Long-time Colts punter and current ESPN host Pat McAfee has seen enough out of two of Indianapolis’ highest profile players this season.
‘I wish we could transfer portal the whole f***ing team,’ McAfee said, using some college football jargon with former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano days before 7-9 Indianapolis’ season-finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars. ‘We need like 70 guys to hit the portal, we can’t do it in the NFL, I guess.
‘Just in case I ever wanted to pitch myself as the president of the Indianapolis Colts – not that I ever would – I’d put a plan together: ‘How do you get rid of this entire f***ing roster?” McAfee continued.
Not everyone is on McAfee’s ‘bad’ list. Veterans such as receiver Michael Pittman, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and cornerback Kenny Moore were all praised by the 37-year-old McAfee. He was equally high on sixth-year guard Quenton Nelson and third-year wideout Alec Pierce.
‘I want Pittman here,’ McAfee said. ‘I want [Alec] Pierce here. Let’s keep Quinton Nelson. Lets keep DeForest Buckner. Let’s keep Kenny Moore. I like Kenny Moore.’
As for highly paid running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Anthony Richardson, McAfee has seen enough.
Ex-Colts punter Pat McAfee has seen enough out Jonathan Taylor and Anthony Richardson
The potentially chronic back issues facing Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson left the former first-round pick crawling around his house, he told reporters this week
Jonathan Taylor was productive in 2024, albeit at a base salary of nearly $12 million
‘Other than that, see ya,’ McAfee declared. ‘Every one of them. Goodbye. Take a hike. Thanks for coming.
‘Jonathan Taylor?’ McAfee asked rhetorically. ‘Trade his f***ing ass out of town. You got a second-round pick? Sweet. First would be better, we’ll do this for the good of the program.
‘Anthony Richardson was a good project,’ McAfee continued. ‘Get him out of town. Fourth-rounder or whatever the hell you got. See ya. That’s what I would do. We need a full reset.’
A former All-Pro now three years removed from his breakout season, Taylor was productive in 2024, albeit at a base salary of nearly $12 million.
Richardson, meanwhile, had another disappointing season after missing all but four games as a rookie first-round pick in 2023.
The 22-year-old is now 8-7 as a starter with just 11 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He’s also been demoted in 2024, although he later reclaimed his starting job from the struggling Joe Flacco.
Veteran DeForest Buckner reportedly told Richardson he wasn’t meeting expectations
In any case, Richardson has been scratched for Sunday’s finale against Jacksonville due to a bad back, but he’s not expected to need surgery.
The depth chart flip flop reported had a confusing effect on Colts players.
‘They were trying to hold [Richardson] accountable, which is understandable, but then the guy they put in wasn’t the guy either,’ one Colts veteran told The Athletic of the struggling Flacco. ‘So when they went back to A.R., at that point it’s like, ”OK, but what are we doing?”
‘That really affected the team.’
What’s more, Buckner went so far as to tell Richardson he wasn’t meeting expectations.
‘I signed an extension here because I believed in you,’ Buckner told Richardson, according to The Athletic’s Jim Trotter. ‘But you’ve got to do your part.’
