Second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson helped the Indianapolis Colts win two of three video games after he was quickly benched for a pair of contests earlier this fall.
For a bit printed Friday, The Athletic’s Jim Trotter shared how Colts normal supervisor Chris Ballard just lately admitted he has one remorse about how the membership dealt with Richardson in 2023.
“Trying again on it, I want we hadn’t performed him as a rookie,” Ballard mentioned about Richardson. “John Dorsey (a longtime personnel man) known as me and mentioned, ‘Don’t play him.’ John had had the nice knowledge from Inexperienced Bay, the place they sat all these quarterbacks (Aaron Rodgers backed up Brett Favre for 3 seasons, and Jordan Love sat behind Rodgers for 3 years). And as they mature and become older, they choose up habits that we had been anticipating Anthony to have from the get-go.”
Richardson made 13 school begins with the Florida Gators earlier than the Colts signed veteran Gardner Minshew in March 2023 and chosen Richardson with the fourth total choose in that 12 months’s draft. Whereas most assumed Colts head coach Shane Steichen would begin Minshew in Week 1 of final season, Steichen named Richardson his QB1 shortly after the then-rookie made his preseason debut.
That decision labored out poorly for everybody concerned, as Richardson suffered a concussion in Week 2 after which went down with a season-ending shoulder harm in his fourth profession begin. Most just lately, Richardson missed time this season because of indirect/belly strains earlier than he admitted he took himself out of a recreation as a result of he was “tired.”
In keeping with Trotter, that remark was “not the overriding cause for sitting Richardson” however “one other piece to the puzzle” relating to why Joe Flacco obtained a few begins. Richardson was removed from elite throughout his final three outings — he accomplished under 53% of his go makes an attempt — however he notched a pair of game-winning drives and confirmed promise that he might finally turn out to be a long-term reply on the place.
“He’s not there but, however he’s working to get higher every day in any respect the issues he must get higher at. It’s a course of,” Ballard added about Richardson. “He’s 22 years previous. I used to be so upset on the b——t that was mentioned after we benched him. Are those that clueless? They had been saying he’s a bust, that he’s carried out. I advised our native individuals, ‘We’re not done with this guy.’ No one believed it. To look at him these final three weeks, I couldn’t be extra proud.”
The Colts are on their bye and can play once more till their Week 15 recreation on the Denver Broncos on Dec. 15. How Richardson performs over Indianapolis’ last 4 weeks of the marketing campaign might decide whether or not the Colts in the end resolve they’re “carried out with this man” early subsequent 12 months.
