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Colts sign Anthony Richardson, wrap up draft class deals

Originally posted on Pro Football Rumors
By Adam La Rose | Last updated 7/24/23

The Colts entered Monday with three members of their rookie class unsigned, but that is no longer the case. The team announced the signings of second-round corner Julius Brents and fourth-round offensive lineman Blake Freeland, while NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that quarterback Anthony Richardson has also agreed to terms on his initial pro contract.

The latter will earn a fully-guaranteed $33.99M, including a $21.72M signing bonus. As the Texans have done with No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud, Richardson will receive all of his bonus upfront. With the financial business taken care of, the Colts can look ahead to training camp, during which Richardson in particular will be at the center of attention.

The Florida product was long seen as the x-factor in this year’s quarterback class. Richardson spent three years with the Gators, but he only logged one full campaign as the team’s starter. During the 2022 season, he posted an underwhelming 17:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio while completing just under 54% of his passes. Those figures led to understandable questions about his abilities as a passer at the NFL level.

The 6-foot-4, 232-pounder ran for 654 yards and nine touchdowns, however, and delivered a highly impressive Combine performance. That helped convince Indianapolis to select him fourth overall, making him the third signal-caller to hear his name called. Owner Jim Irsay recently spoke about the timeline along which Richardson could overtake veteran signing Gardner Minshew as the team’s starter under new head coach Shane Steichen (who was hired in no small part based on his success in developing young QBs).

Brents was likely in line for a notable rookie role even before Isaiah Rodgers was let go by the Colts in the wake of his gambling suspension. Especially now that the team’s corner depth has been weakened by that move, the Kansas State product will compete for a starting role on a Colts team that, after trading away Stephon Gilmore, is generally lacking in proven commodities at the position. Freeland, who spent three years at BYU, will look to provide depth to an offensive front that significantly underperformed in 2022.

Here is the complete Colts’ draft class:

Round 1, No. 4: Anthony Richardson, QB (Florida) (signed)
Round 2, No. 44 (from Falcons): Julius Brents, CB (Kansas State) (signed)
Round 3, No. 79 (from Commanders): Josh Downs, WR (North Carolina) (signed)
Round 4, No. 106: Blake Freeland, OT (BYU) (signed)
Round 4, No. 110 (from Falcons): Adetomiwa Adebawore, DE (Northwestern) (signed)
Round 5, No. 138: Darius Rush, CB (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 5, No. 158 (from Vikings): Daniel Scott, S (California) (signed)
Round 5, No. 162 (from Bills): Will Mallory, TE (Miami) (signed)
Round 5, No. 176 (from Cowboys): Evan Hull, RB (Northwestern) (signed)
Round 6, No. 211 (from Vikings): Titus Leo, DE (Wagner) (signed)
Round 7, No. 221: Jaylon Jones, CB (Texas A&M) (signed)
Round 7, No. 236 (from Buccaneers): Jake Witt, OT (Northern Michigan) (signed)