Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson has had more than his fair share of struggles through his two years with the team, with 2025 easily being seen as a make-or-break season for him. Though Richardson has no shortage of potential and upside, he has fallen far short in multiple areas - accuracy, reliability, and an ability to stay healthy.
Thankfully for Richardson fans, he has been doing a great job so far at training camp, despite it seeming earlier in the offseason that he had fallen behind Daniel Jones, thanks to yet another injury. Richardson had to miss out on many of the team practices over the summer, and it seemed Jones was going to catapault past Richardson when training camp started. Instead, Richardson has shocked everyone by performing far better than expected.
In a recent interview, he spoke about how he wasn't feeling pressured by the team, but from his own failures. “This organization believed in me enough to draft me … top-five pick," he said. "So, I don’t think there’s any more pressure. It’s just me working hard and proving them right and letting them know that they chose the right guy."
One of the biggest failures from Richardson came when he tapped out of a play last season, later saying it was because he was "tired." That, along with his other issues, led to a temporary benching. The Colts were fiercely criticized for how that situation was handled, but Richardson himself hasn't had much to say about it... until now. In an interview with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, he took ownership of the situation, for perhaps the first time.
"All the greats, they always do more," he said. "They do more than what other people are expecting them to do. And, you know, after last season, I felt like I needed to do more, not only for the team, but for myself. If I want to so-called be great, and I want to be in the Hall of Fame one day, I have to do more."
From #Colts:
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 30, 2025
-Shane Steichen calls QB battle ‘neck and neck.’
-Anthony Richardson humbled, tweaks mechanics
-Daniel Jones picks up offense quickly pic.twitter.com/3x0khmt30o
That mindset was echoed by Fowler, who expounded on what Richardson had told him privately.
"He said, look, I need to pick up the slack. I did not work hard enough last year and that's essentially why I got benched. So he tweaked his offseason, worked harder, worked on his mechanics. He changed his base, his leg base, so he won't sail as many passes. He'll be more accurate; that has shown so far in camp. And so his goal is to realize the Colts' faith in him when they picked him in the top five two years ago, but also realize some of his biggest dreams."Jeremy Fowler
This echoes the rumored criticism about Richardson, previously reported by Stephen Holder. Essentially, Richardson didn't understand the seriousness of being a franchise quarterback. "Conversations with teammates and multiple sources have created a clearer picture of what transpired behind the scenes," Holder wrote. "What they laid out was the story of a young quarterback described as 'naïve' rather than resistant, a player who didn't know what he didn't know. The benching, according to a team source, was an effort to get Richardson's attention."
That, combined with bringing in Jones, appears to have caught Richardson's attention in a big way. It's a lot of struggle, but if it pays off in the long run - if Richardson is finally able to harness that incredible talent and potential - it may still have been worth it.