The news that everyone was dreading has officially been announced: rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson will undergo surgery for his injured shoulder, and the Indianapolis Colts will be without him for the rest of the season. In recent days, this seemed like the option that Richardson and the team was going to take, and it was confirmed on Wednesday in an announcement by the team and Jim Irsay.
Team owner Jim Irsay explained that the organization “collected several medical opinions and we felt this was the best course of action for his long-term health.” Of course, everyone is devastated, but a full recovery is anticipated, and Richardson should be able to resume his promising career next season.
QB Anthony Richardson will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. pic.twitter.com/iYZbTyXOkw
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 18, 2023
How long will Anthony Richardson be out after shoulder surgery?
Richardson’s injury is a severe AC Joint sprain. While everybody is different, and heals on their own timeline, the general recovery time for an AC Joint surgery is four to six months. Assuming that Richardson undergoes his procedure in the coming days, four to six months from now would be February through April. Depending on how everything goes for Richardson, it’s possible that he could be back on the field for the offseason program.
That would certainly be the best-case scenario, because Richardson is still a young quarterback, and he needs to be apart of all the on-field learning that he can. It’s safe to say that the ultimate goal for Richardson’s recovery will be for him to be starting Week 1 of the 2024 season without any lingering issues. If that’s the case, Richardson’s promising career will be back on track.
For now, it’s going on a hiatus, as his rookie season is over. Richardson only appeared in four games, playing just 173 snaps. However, those snaps were electric. Richardson completed 50-of-84 passes (59.5%) for 577 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. On the ground, he ran the ball 25 times for 136 yards and four touchdowns.
The only concern had been his health. Richardson sustained a bruised knee in Week 1, a concussion in Week 2, and then the sprained AC Joint in Week 5. All three injuries came on designed quarterback runs, so naturally, a conversation was sparked about whether the Colts should run Richardson less or not. That’s a conversation that Indy will have internally. For now, the focus is getting Richardson healthy.