The Detroit Lions are the perfect landing spot for Anthony Richardson
It’s a low risk and high reward move for the Lions
Since the start of the NFL and college football seasons, and the release of Hendon Hooker, we’ve been discussing the Detroit Lions’ search for their next backup quarterback and potentially their quarterback of the future.
Since then, a lot has changed. Most of the solid quarterbacks in the draft have gone back to college. There are still some options out there, but none of them really jump off the page, and there are some concerns that a lot of quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft are older.
So that brings the conversation to a trade. There’s one quarterback who is on the trade market right now who makes a lot of sense…
The Lions should be the team that trades for Anthony Richardson
Ok, for starters, because I know what some of reaction is going to be, we need ot get past the way we’ve been looking at quarterbacks because if we’ve learned anything in the last five years, it’s that we’re wrong most of the time when it comes to saying who’s bad and who’s not.
Sam Darnold, Jared Goff, Mac Jones, Malik Willis, Daniel Jones, and Baker Mayfield have gone from “draft busts” to some of the best quarterbacks in the league or guys who are now sought after. It’s all about finding the right spot for them.
For Richardson, that wasn’t the Colts. That team has made it pretty clear since his rookie season that they had no patience with him and no desire to develop him. The Lions spent three years trying to develop a guy who didn’t work out. But it at least shows their commitment to the process.
Richardson is still just 23 years old, and if he were in Detroit, he’d be surrounded by a Million Dollar Man-like team of knowledge who can rebuild him because they have the technology. I mean, look at this group:
Anthony Richardson’s potential rebuild team
- Dan Campbell
- Drew Petzing – Former quarterbacks coach
- Mike Kafka – Former quarterbacks coach and NFL quarterback
- Mark Brunell – Quarterbacks coach and former Pro Bowl quarterback
- Marques Tuiasosopo – Former NFL quarterback
- Bruce Gradkowski – Former NFL quarterback
- Jared Goff – Pro Bowl quarterback
Just a wealth of quarterback knowledge who can bring eyes from so many different directions and has proof of concept. Kafka was Patrick Mahomes’ QB coach, Petzing is coming off helping Jacoby Brissett have the best season of his career, and Mark Brunell had a huge hand in rebuilding Goff. If Richardson can’t succeed with this group, it would be pretty shocking.
So what would the Lions have to give up? This is where the Lions can protect themselves. Because they can get a pretty good prospect here for a much lower pick than they’d have to spend on a quarterback in the draft. A 2026 sixth-round pick would get this deal done. The Lions should do it.