The downward spiral of this 2024 Colts season continues with another baffling decision pertaining to Anthony Richardson. Sure, a random back injury pops up, and they heal, and we move on. However, if we dive deeper into this, this could be another concerning decision from Colts General Manager Chris Ballard.
Sorting Out The Truth
During Anthony Richardson’s New Years Day media availability, he discussed the injury that kept him out of last week’s game against the New York Giants. An injury that Head Coach Shane Steichen told us was simply “soreness,” something that was implied to be minor. This is the type of comment you make at the end of the season for something you are dealing with, and the decision to play is made by the staff, especially with someone of Richardson's stature.
As the game approached last weekend, it was revealed by sources that Richardson was not dealing with soreness. It was leaked that he was dealing with back spasms that Richardson said prevented him from walking. It forced him to "crawl," to be accurate. Even worse, it was Steichen who confirmed that the injury was worse than he led on. He wanted to keep information “in house” and not reveal what was truly going on to the opponent.
Concerning Comments From Richardson
As mentioned above, it was Richardson that confirmed how bad the back spasms were last weekend. He then went even further into the injury and the history of it. Richardson revealed he had an MRI that revealed it’s a spinal disc issue that has lingered with him since middle school. That’s right: an issue since middle school.
For a team that likes to keep all news “in house,” it was surprising to hear Richardson be so honest and outgoing to the media, especially with something as sensitive as an injury at the important position in football. It’s not known if Richardson said these comments with the blessing of the coaching staff or not.
Overarching Dysfunction
Again, having a back issue is not a problem at this point of a long season. What is concerning to this fanbase is the continued dysfunction from top to bottom. All teams do their homework come draft time when looking at potential prospects. It’s a wide-ranging task of information that they look at. They look at everything from injury history to their off-field doings, good or bad.
Richardson had already (by some) been given a “injury-prone” tag in his young career. This back issue won’t silence any of his critics, it will increase his noise. The dysfunction is now blazing at Chris Ballard and his entire front office staff... not to mention the report from The Athletic that showed how mediocrity has engulfed this franchise.
Ballard has shown since the retirement of Andrew Luck that he is incapable of leading this franchise out of the football purgatory it is currently in. His continued arrogance and belief in a failing system is leading this fan base to question him yet again. His draft history has been spotty, especially in the later rounds recently. Those are just to name a few of the problems Ballard has not been able to rectify. Now, if this staff decided to draft Richardson so early at #4 with back issues that could lead to future problems, that shows his ignorance. The only way Jim Irsay can salvage this fan base is to completely reset this franchise, and it starts with Chris Ballard finally ending his tenure with the Indianapolis Colts.