Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson hasn’t played much high-level football. He was selected fourth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft despite making just 13 starts in his college career. Last season, he only started four games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
The preseason isn’t for everyone, especially starting quarterbacks, but a few extra reps aren’t a bad thing for Richardson.
The Colts know Richardson’s potential, but they can’t yet know for sure what they have. In Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, Richardson played well into the second quarter on a night when three of the other four teams in action sat all of their starters. Richardson was eventually pulled with 6:07 left in the second quarter.
His night had some good things, but also reminders that Richardson still has a lot of things to do.
Anthony Richardson starts strong
The night started off well for Richardson. On Indianapolis’ first drive, Richardson completed 7 of 8 passes for 65 yards and finished with a touchdown to rookie receiver Adonai Mitchell.
Richardson showed good speed on his passes and was accurate on that drive. The Colts didn’t want to end the night that way and opted to give Richardson some extra snaps.
Then there were some mistakes.
The biggest mistake came on an interception for a touchdown. Bengals safety Jordan Battle, a third-round pick in the 2023 draft, read Richardson perfectly and stepped in the way of his short pass. Battle intercepted it and headed into the end zone to return a 13-yard interception for a touchdown.
That’s a lesson for an inexperienced quarterback. At least it didn’t count.
Richardson has an irregular night
Richardson nearly fumbled again in the second quarter when he didn’t feel the pressure behind him and lost the ball. The Colts recovered that fumble.
Richardson had a fast start and a rough finish. He completed 8 of 14 passes for 86 yards, but nearly all of the positives came on the first drive. The Colts’ next four drives ended with one interception and three punts.
Maybe the Colts should have called it a night for Richardson after that touchdown drive.
The Colts got more information on Richardson, and while some of it was negative, they can use it before the regular season to improve.
Richardson’s potential is tantalizing, especially after he played so well in limited time last season. Until he can stay healthy for a full season, we won’t know exactly how good he is as an NFL quarterback. He showed some good things on Thursday, but there are also some things to fix.
