The Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback Anthony Richardson as their top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and despite heavy criticism of his lack of playing time at the college level, Richardson impressed in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury early in the campaign.
The signal-caller is now on the mend and it appears to be on track to be in action in spring practice, as revealed by head coach Shane Steichen at the league meetings on Monday. Steichen also expressed his optimism as to what Richardson can accomplish as QB1 after a brief glimpse last year.
Via Stephen Holder of ESPN:
“I think he’ll be good to go for spring practice,” Steichen said. “Obviously, we’ve got to limit it and monitor it and don’t go overboard, but I can’t be more excited to get him back going again.
“His limited sample size that he had in those first five weeks were impressive. I mean, he made some plays that I’ve never seen guys make.”
Anthony Richardson rookie season
Richardson was easily the most physically gifted QB in the 2023 class, putting on a show at his Florida Pro Day and even hitting the roof with a throw. His arm strength is on another level. And despite minimal reps in college as the Gators starter, Richardson quickly showed in the league that he is a force to be reckoned with, although it was a small sample size.
The 21-year-old went 2-2 in four games, completing 60% of his passes for 577 yards and three touchdowns against one interception. He also ran for 136 yards and four scores for an average of 5.4 yards per carry. Richardson was seen as a dual-threat quarterback coming out of college and he showcased the running ability in a massive way.
In Week 5, Richardson suffered a shoulder injury that unfortunately prevented him from playing again in 23′, but the Colts and Steichen are very excited from what they've seen so far. Last month, Richardson began a throwing program and GM Chris Ballard made it clear Indy will be very cautious with their franchise QB after how things turned out with Andrew Luck back in the day:
“Really happy about where he's at,” Ballard said. “He started throwing, he's on a rehab program. I lived through the last one and I learned a lot of lessons living through the last one (with Andrew Luck). So forgive me for being a little cautious.
“… We're here to pull the reins to make sure we don't get too far ahead of schedule and we're staying with whatever the doctors are telling us. But he's in good shape, he's throwing, he's got a good throwing program, he's got good people working with him. I'm encouraged about where he's at and where he's going, and we'll go from there.”
Colts' free agency period
It's clear the Colts are building around Anthony Richardson. They haven't made a ton of moves in free agency quite yet but the organization did sign 39-year-old Joe Flacco, who will come in and be a fantastic mentor for their young, versatile quarterback. Indianapolis also signed DT Raekwon Davis while locking down WR Michael Pittman Jr on a new deal, a key weapon for Richardson moving forward.
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