Fred Taylor makes his loyalties clear for Anthony Richardson, Colts vs. Jaguars in week 1

Former NFL star Fred Taylor has a major conflict coming up at the beginning of the NFL season. His Jacksonville Jaguars play the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 and the Colts will be led by former Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson.

As a former Gator and a die-hard Jaguars fan, Taylor has to weigh his loyalties, but at the end of the day, he doesn’t think it’s that hard of a choice.

The former Jacksonville running back told Pat McAfee this week that he’s rolling with Duval all season, even in the two matchups versus Richardson and the Colts.

“I’m biased, he’s a Gator, I love him to death,” Taylor said. “You know how I feel about Anthony Richardson. But when we knuckle up two games a year, I can’t root for him. I want him to have success, but I want the win. He can have 500 yards passing and the Jaguars win, I’m good. I do not care.

“Same thing with the Houston Texans. C.J. Stroud, I love him. Same thing… We just want wins, so we can get into the playoffs and do our thing.”

Taylor may have love for Richardson, but in his mind, nothing’s getting in the way of Trevor Lawrence taking his Jaguars back to the playoffs this season.

Colts name Richardson as starter

Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced on Tuesday that Anthony Richardson will be the team’s starting quarterback this season. The former Florida Gator had the opportunity to start in the Colts first preseason game over the weekend, going 7-for-12 for 67 yards and an interception with no scores.

Richardson is one of three quarterbacks on the roster for Colts training camp along with Gardner Minshew and Sam Ehlinger. Minshew, who is entering his fifth NFL season, also shared first-team reps during practices but it appears that Steichen is ready to hand the keys to the rookie.

“I thought he had great poise,” Steichen said after Richardson’s debut versus the Bills, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “I knew we had the early interception. That’s my fault. We’ve got to do a better job communicating on that one. … That starts with coaching, starts with myself. Other than that, I thought he was efficient.”

Richardson was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Florida but was viewed as a longer-term project compared to top-two picks Bryce Young and CJ Stroud.

Richardson signed his rookie deal last month, which is a four-year, $33.99 million guaranteed deal. He also earned a $21.72-million signing bonus.

Richardson had only one year of starting experience in college with the Gators. He made 12 starts in 2022 with a 6-6 record, throwing for 2,549 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and nine picks on a 54% completion percentage.

He also added 654 rushing yards and nine more scores on the ground.