Anthony Richardson had an impressive day in Colts joint practice with the Bears
Anthony Richardson was recently named the official starter for the Indianapolis Colts, and that title came just in time for Richardson and Indy to compete against the Chicago Bears in joint practices. On Wednesday, the Colts hosted the Bears for one of two joint practices that the teams will have before facing off in a preseason game on Saturday.
The joint practices offer a controlled, competitive environment, and allows teams to evaluate their players in best vs. best competition. For the rookie Richardson, these practices are another important step in his development, and great tests to see how he fares against NFL defenses.
Fortunately, Anthony Richardson seemed to pass the test on Wednesday. Running with the starters, Richardson had an efficient day, going 15-of-19 in 11 on 11s against Chicago. Richardson also had some impressive passes in 7 on 7s and 1 on 1s.
Anthony Richardson’s deep ball is TOO good 😳
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) August 17, 2023
Richardson reportedly had an “efficient” joint practice against the Bears today, going 15/19 passing in 11-on-11.
Richardson’s accuracy was also reportedly “on point” during the 1-on-1 portion of practice.
Shane Steichen (Colts HC)… pic.twitter.com/S9xfDF1sPg
Anthony Richardson looks good in practice with the Bears
Although it was an efficient day, it wasn’t necessarily an explosive day. Jake Arthur reported that the Bears did a good job of taking the deep looks away, so Richardson completed a lot of underneath passes. Regardless, that’s still promising, especially since Richardson’s short-to-intermediate accuracy was a concern coming out of college. This shows that Richardson can take what the defense is giving and accurately complete passes.
Richardson will have an opportunity on Thursday to build on what he and the offense did on Wednesday. Training camp is all about putting one good day after another. That’s especially the case for Richardson who’s still getting adjusted to the NFL.
After Thursday’s practice, both teams will take Friday off and prepare for the Saturday night preseason game. Typically, when teams have joint practices, the starters don’t play that much, because they’ve already had so many best-on-best reps in practice. However, since everything for Richardson right now is about getting reps and experience, it’s likely that he still gets a few series in the preseason game. That’ll give him another opportunity to shine and keep growing.
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