The Colts’ frustrations with the quarterback position continued today when starter Anthony Richardson exited today’s game with a hip injury. The second-year passer out of Florida hopes not to miss much time, if any, per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network, and he will be evaluated throughout the week.

Richardson actually left the game twice today. Early in the team’s second drive of the game, Richardson walked off the field after hurting his hip. Veteran backup quarterback Joe Flacco stepped in for two plays before Richardson returned to the game. Inexplicably, Richardson’s first play back on the field was a read-option keeper that immediately saw the young quarterback take another shot and, once again, exit with injury.

Luckily for the Colts, Flacco showed up in much the same manner as he did as an emergency starter for the Browns last season, throwing two touchdowns en route to a victory over his old division-rival Steelers. Flacco was signed to a one-year, $4.5MM deal to come to Indianapolis over the offseason due to injuries Richardson sustained in 2023.

Richardson started four of five games to open his rookie season before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. For the remainder of the year, the team relied on Gardner Minshew, who performed admirably enough to earn a Pro Bowl bid but wasn’t able to get the Colts to the playoffs. Keeping in mind the injury history and lack of starting experience of Richardson, it made sense for Indianapolis to bring in an experienced, veteran option like Flacco.

Moving forward, it sounds like Richardson will be looking to continue in his starting role without missing any time. In fact, he told reporters today that he attempted to return to the game again today, but head coach Shane Steichen overruled him since he wasn’t 100 percent, per ESPN’s Stephen Holder. While the Colts will hope to see him return soon, the team knows now that Flacco has the ability to step up and win games off the bench, if necessary.

Anthony Richardson has shown flashes during his second year in the NFL, but he still faces a steep development curve. The Colts do not appear to be preparing a change at the QB depth chart in the wake of his inconsistent start to the year.

Last year’s fourth overall pick is set to remain atop the depth chart for at least “a while,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes. The Colts made it clear during the 2023 offseason that a young signal-caller would be targeted in lieu of another shot-term veteran addition. That resulted in Richardson being selected, but his rookie campaign was limited to only four games.

Expectations were nevertheless high for the 22-year-old individually and Indianapolis in general entering 2024. Head coach Shane Steichen – hired in no small part for his success in developing Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts during his Chargers and Eagles tenures – has remained confident in Richardson’s potential over the short- and long-term future. The first three weeks of the season have been marked by accuracy issues and inconsistent decision-making, however.

Richardson’s completion percentage sits at just 49.3% on the season, and his six interceptions lead the league. The Florida product (who saw limited starts in college) has remained effective on the ground with 117 rushing yards and one touchdown, and his arm strength has been on display this year (16.2 yards per completion average, the highest in the NFL). Sitting Richardson for a stretch – as the Panthers are currently doing with Bryce Young – could allow for a reset, although such a move should not be expected.

The Colts signed Joe Flacco as their backup in the offseason, adding the former Super Bowl MVP after his surprisingly successful run at the end of last season in Cleveland. That stretch demonstrated the 39-year-old’s ability to remain productive at this stage of his career, and a Richardson injury would thrust Flacco into the lineup just as Gardner Minshew was last year. For the time being, though, Richardson will remain in place as the team aims to continue developing him while rebounding from a 1-2 start.

The Colts rolled into the 2023 NFL season looking forward to No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson leading their team as the quarterback of the future. Unfortunately, just over a month into the season, the Florida rookie underwent season-ending shoulder surgery with only four starts under his belt. On The GM Shuffle podcast this week, Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard gave the most recent update to Richardson’s health.

Since the initial injury news, we’ve seen an in-season update confirming that Richardson would not require a second surgery to repair his AC joint injury and an update in February that he had started throwing again, shortly after the conclusion of the postseason. Most recently, we heard at the end of March that the 22-year-old was on track to participate in spring practices.

Richardson was, indeed, able to participate this spring. He was reportedly a full participant in organized team activities recently, only minimizing his workload on the final day of OTAs after two heavy throwing sessions in the days before. He was even a reported full participant on Day 1 of minicamp, though he left Day 2 early and was not in attendance on Day 3.

Reports have come in that Richardson’s lack of participation was due to shoulder soreness. While that’s reasonably understandable following two days of heavy throwing, it’s still a bit of a concern following the nature of Richardson’s injury.

Despite the implication that such soreness and reserved participation point to his injury not being 100 percent healed, head coach Shane Steichen and Richardson himself both insist that his absence was merely a precaution. The Colts maintain that Richardson’s soreness and lack of participation at the end of minicamp will have no impact on Richardson’s participation in training camp. The second-year passer is expected to be “full go” at camp this summer.

The offense around Richardson will look much the same upon his return. The main differences are that, after minimal work with All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor as a rookie, the two should get to share the field a bit more in 2024. Additionally, Richardson will have a new target in second-round receiver Adonai Mitchell. He’ll also have a new mentor as the Colts essentially exchanged primary backup quarterback Gardner Minshew for veteran Joe Flacco, both of whom served their teams well in injury replacement duty last year.

Last month, Anthony Richardson resumed throwing in a notable step forward in his rehab process. The Colts quarterback continues to make progress while recovering from a sprained AC joint.

That shoulder injury led to season-ending surgery early in Richardson’s rookie campaign. He remains the team’s clear-cut starter ahead of the 2024 season, though, with backup Gardner Minshew having been replaced by Joe Flacco. Richardson could be back to full speed as early as OTAs.

I think he’ll be good to go for spring practice,” head coach Shane Steichen said, via the Indy Star’s Nate Atkins. “Obviously, we’ve got to limit it and monitor it and don’t go overboard, but I couldn’t be more excited to get him back going again.”

Indeed, a cautious approach would be wise on the team’s part with respect to Richardson. The 21-year-old suffered multiple injuries before the AC joint sprain which ultimately sidelined him during a season in which he showed flashes of the two-way abilities which led to his high draft selection. Added with the fourth overall pick last April, Richardson faces the expectation of giving Indianapolis a long-term contributor under center for the first time since Andrew Luck. 

The latter’s sudden retirement decision in 2019 came about after multiple major injuries, and his absence has proven to be challenging to overcome for Indianapolis. For that reason, it comes as no surprise general manager Chris Ballard has echoed Steichen’s desire for a slow rehab process as it pertains to Richardson.

“I lived through the last one and I learned a lot of lessons living through the last one. Forgive me for being a little cautious,” Ballard said at the NFL scouting Combine when asked about the Florida product. “I know Anthony has made some statements that it’s important to be ahead of schedule. 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.”

The Colts’ OTAs are set to take place May 21-23, as well as May 29-31. That will be followed by mandatory minicamp from June 4-6. As things currently stand, Richardson will be able to take part in those practices in advance of training camp during the summer.

Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson‘s first NFL season came to an unceremonious end when he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery just over a month into the year. Four months later, Richardson is continuing on the road to recovery, progressing to the point that he is now once again throwing a football, per Mike Chappell of FOX59 News.

Soon after returning from an early concussion, Richardson was once again forced out of a game in Week 5 of the season, this time with an injury to his throwing shoulder. After some deliberation, both Richardson and the team made the decision to go under the knife, putting an end to his rookie year. Two weeks after undergoing surgery, team owner Jim Irsay relayed that no new issues had emerged during his procedure, negating any need for a potential second surgery to repair his AC joint injury.

This newest update continues to demonstrate positive momentum for the 21-year-old passer. Richardson will continue inching his way back to a full recovery as the team will likely take every precaution with their investment at the quarterback position. If he continues at this pace, the hope is that Richardson will be ready to throw competitively by organized team activities and, eventually, be full-go by training camp. For now, the young quarterback has been going back and forth between Indianapolis, where he continues to learn under the coaching staff, and Jacksonville, where his rehab is taking place.

The Colts were surprisingly able to stay competitive after losing their starting passer this year. Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew even made a Pro Bowl after winning seven of his 13 starts in replacement duty. Minshew, though, is set to test free agency, so the return of Richardson in time for the season becomes that much more important.

While there still is no timeline for Richardson’s return, the progress seen by the team’s quarterback is encouraging so far. He’ll continue to rehab throughout the offseason, and the team will likely reassess around OTAs.

We learned yesterday that Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson will undergo season-ending surgery to repair his AC joint. Since Richardson was placed on injured reserve last week, it seemed like the QB and the organization were going back and forth on how to proceed with the shoulder injury.

[RELATED: Colts QB Anthony Richardson To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery]

Per ESPN’s Stephen Holder, it was an unanimous agreement from the get-go that Richardson should go under the knife, but considering the procedure would definitively end the QB’s season, the sides weren’t in any rush to make a decision. That would explain why Richardson and the organization didn’t make their final decision until a week after the rookie landed on injured reserve.

Before the Colts and Richardson decided that surgery was the optimal path, they consulted with doctors from both the Texas Rangers and New York Mets. Holder notes that the Colts looked towards Major League Baseball docs because of the AC joint’s impact on “throwers.” These “outside” doctor worked alongside the Colts in-house doctors while advising Richardson on the best path forward.

When it comes to a timeline, Holder notes that the organization, Colts doctors, and Richardson will establish all of that following the surgery. The operation is intended to fix the injury and “prevent further occurrences,” and there’s no concern about the QB’s long-term health.

A concussion in Week 2 and the Week 4 shoulder injury came after Richardson ran the ball himself, leading some to wonder if the risk was worth the reward. When asked about the mobile quarterback’s running preference, Colts owner Jim Irsay shut down the notion.

“He’s not running too much. He’s protecting himself. He really is,” Irsay told Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. “If you look at the one on the shoulder injury, you can’t believe it happened. It’s just a normal tackle.”