Denver Broncos should consider trading for recently benched first-round QB

The Denver Broncos should consider making a trade for Anthony Richardson, the Indianapolis Colts QB who was recently sent to the bench. In a shocking move earlier this week, the Colts sent Richardson to the bench and have now installed Joe Flacco as their starting QB. This could impact their matchup with the Broncos late in the season.

The Colts are a better team with Flacco in the lineup than Richardson, but we'll see if he's still in the lineup at that point. In hearing what the fallout's been like since Richardson got sent to the bench, you just have to wonder if the Colts are totally done with the player.

If so, perhaps he could be traded before the NFL trade deadline. Could the Denver Broncos make a move there?

The Broncos should see if Anthony Richardson is available

The really neat thing about the Denver Broncos is that they have two backup-caliber QBs in Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson. Wilson has been the emergency third-QB this season, and Stidham has been in the QB2 spot. With both QBs set to be free agents in 2025, it's not likely that Denver would bring both players back.

In my opinion, they'd probably refer to bring Zach Wilson back, as he's younger and has a higher ceiling than Stidham. Well, we all know just how important the QB position is in the NFL, and you just have to wonder how many other teams in the NFL have a better structure around them to develop a QB than Denver does.

You've got a very good offensive head coach in Sean Payton, a top-5 offensive line, and a QB coach in Davis Webb who has played in the league before. It's probably a huge reason why Zach Wilson looked good this past offseason.

It's not clear at the moment if the Colts would even consider shopping Richardson, but would a player-for-player swap be worth it for Denver? Would it make sense for the Denver Broncos to trade Zach Wilson for Anthony Richardson?

Richardson is clearly a higher-ceiling player and may just need more time to refine his mechanics and develop overall. He'd have absolutely no pressure to play immediately, especially if Bo Nix pans out, and Richardson is still just 22 years old.

This could be the type of forward-thinking move that the Broncos could make to gain a slight advantage and maybe plan for the future as well.