A recent decision by the Colts could be sounding a loud alarm to the rest of the NFL that a young player could be traded

Colts and Cardinals both will be without a key starter during their Week 6 matchup

Destin Adams — NFL News Writer

Oct 12, 2025 12:11 PM EDT

The Indianapolis Colts are hosting the Arizona Cardinals for their Week 6 matchup today. Before the game kicked off, they had some decisions to make with their inactive players list. And they certainly made headlines with some bold choices. The team announced that Adonai Mitchell will be a healthy scratch after his major mistakes cost the team a win in Week 4.

Even more notable, though, the team seemed to demote Anthony Richardson to QB3, and he appeared to be a healthy scratch. However, the team announced soon after that Richardson suffered an eye injury pre-game, which is the reason given for this demotion.

Call me skeptical about that being all that’s going on here, but we should learn more after the game when Shane Steichen speaks. I wouldn’t be shocked if this becomes the new normal for the team, while a trade is worked on behind the scenes to give Richardson a fresh start elsewhere.

our inactives for #AZvsIND. pic.twitter.com/48fQFFoUt3
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 12, 2025

Colts Week 6 inactives

Anthony Richardson, QB
Kenny Moore II, CB
Adonai Mitchell, WR
Will Mallory, TE
Tyler Goodson, RB
Luke Tenuta, OL
JT Tuimoloau, Edge

Colts CB Kenny Moore celebrates a tackle against the Broncos — Sep 14, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II (23) celebrates tackling Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin (11) during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

The Colts announced Friday they’d be without starter Kenny Moore II and RB Tyler Goodson. This will give Chris Lammons the start at slot CB. Another notable change this week is Mitchell being a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. Alec Pierce is back on the field this week, which makes the team feel more confident in who they have on the roster already, so they will give Mitchell time off to hope he can earn his way back on the field in the future.

The biggest story on their inactive list is Richardson. The fact that it’s being announced as an injury is interesting, so it could mean nothing in the long run. I am a bit skeptical that Richardson will find his way back into the starting spot with the Colts anytime soon, though.

So I could see the Colts finding a way to trade Richardson ahead of the NFL trade deadline. We will have to wait and see how the coming weeks go, and if Richardson remains QB2 when the next depth chart update is released.