This week, the Indianapolis Colts made the decision to name rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson the starter for the 2023 season — and he immediately received starter’s treatment. In Indy’s second preseason matchup vs. the Chicago Bears, the No. 4 overall pick did not play a single snap.
Many starting quarterbacks around the league don’t play much in the preseason, such as Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets and Ryan Tannehill of the Tennessee Titans, but rookies need reps. Maybe Colts head coach Shane Steichen has seen all he needs to see to be convinced of Richardson, but just about every rookie has to deal with growing pains. The preseason can help with that.
Out of all the quarterbacks selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, Richardson may have the heighest ceiling. He registered as the most athletic quarterback to ever go through the NFL Combine, and possesses an NFL-level arm. However, the one knock on Richardson is that he is not polished as a passer — he’s raw. Richardson tied Mitch Trubisky in having the fewest career college starts by a first-round pick since 2000 with 13. He also had the worst career completion percentage (55%) for a first-round pick since Jake Locker from the 2011 class. Richardson threw just 24 touchdowns in 24 career games at Florida. Doesn’t he need these reps?
Richardson’s first preseason outing against the Buffalo Bills felt like a perfect example of what his rookie season may look like as a whole. He threw a very bad interception on the first possession of his NFL career, but then came back with an incredible deep shot to Alec Pierce (that was dropped). In all, Richardson completed 7 of 12 passes for 67 yards and that one interception against Buffalo.
Richardson needs these preseason reps. The Colts deciding to sit him on Saturday night was curious to say the least.
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Author: Jordan Dajani
August 19, 2023 | 8:17 pm
