Managing injuries has, unfortunately, become one of the hallmarks of the last few years of Indianapolis Colts football. With Anthony Richardson working his way back from a fairly serious injury that ended his rookie year early, standout wide receiver Josh Downs is now dealing with a not-insignificant ankle injury suffered in practice.
The Downs injury came before Indianapolis' first preseason game against Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos. Preseason games can always be difficult to properly judge due to how infrequent all of the top players are out on the field at the same time, but it seems like Shane Steichen is breaking out the big guns. At least, for a little bit.
Steichen confirmed that Richardson and most of the starters will play "a series or two" in the Broncos game. While he wants to shake off the rust and get the young Richardson more reps, he also doesn't want to risk another season-changing injury right before primetime.
Steichen is taking the 100% correct approach to the preseason. It would be ill-advised to have Richardson begin the season without any live game reps in almost 11 months, but putting him on the field for an extended period of time in a meaningless game is equally foolish.
Shane Steichen confirms Anthony Richardson will play in Colts preseason
Richardson is a year removed from being considered an extremely raw prospect who needs all the reps he can get. That status likely won't change after a month of games in the pros, which makes this preseason important for his development.
However, if Indianapolis loses Richardson again, their season could be sunk. Not only is backup Joe Flacco the polar opposite of Richardson as a player, necessitating an entirely new offense for him alone, but the Colts will be playing in a much deeper and better AFC South this season.
With new additions like Adonai Mitchell making their debut in the offense and the offensive line looking to get back to their old elite form, working out the issues in the preseason makes a ton of sense. However, Steichen needs to keep Richardson and the rest of the starters on the strictest pitch count imaginable.
If Steichen wants to get to the postseason after coming agonizingly close in the past, he needs Richardson to do it. No. 5 won't be able to do that if he has to sit out a few games due to a preseason ailment.