Indianapolis Colts fans have gotten used to a certain level of mediocrity from 2023 first-round draft pick quarterback Anthony Richardson. The problems are multi-faceted with AR5. He has immense raw skill, but so far, that hasn't translated to the NFL.
One issue is that he gets hurt far too easily. This isn't just the case in his time with the Colts, either. As far back as high school, Richardson has struggled with injuries. At this point, it seems unlikely he would ever be able to stay healthy for an entire season.
Another problem is that he has shown a low football IQ. He doesn't read defenses well at all, seems to miss things right before his eyes, and has seemingly no awareness of where a pass rush is coming from. Feel and pocket presence are lacking from his game, and that is unacceptable three seasons into his career.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is who we thought he was
Richardson plays more like a rookie than a veteran. Just as damning is the fact that with more playing time in his second season, he was worse than he was as a rookie. His natural inaccuracy led to a completion percentage of 47 percent. In today's NFL, that is a terminable offense.
Richardson was given the nod to start in the Colts' first preseason game versus the Baltimore Ravens, but only played in parts of two series. He was mostly ineffective, but what made matters worse is that on the second series on a second down pass attempt, Richardson dropped back, waited a second, and then was clocked by Ravens linebacker David Ojabo.
Good quarterbacks will feel the pressure coming. Richardson had no clue. His statement afterward to the media did not help his case.
Richardson said, "I feel like I was doing decent out there besides that one play right there...I definitely looked at (the play). That's a tricky one because it's five-man pro, high from the backside. I just gotta get my eyes, you know, be able to react to that....I just gotta be on Ps and Qs...(The defender) is gonna be hard for me to see anyway because my eyes are looking a certain way."
Just, no. First, he wasn't doing decently. He was ineffective, as he is always ineffective. Secondly, the play was nowhere near a "tricky" one. Preseason defenses are vanilla, and there is no scheming. There was no magic to what Baltimore did on the play. Richardson just missed the alignment.
AR5's lack of pocket awareness is something that is going to be tough to coach out of him. That is mostly instinctual. Richardson doesn't appear to have the requisite instincts to be a productive quarterback.
Of course, head coach Shane Steichen shares some of the blame for the injury. The reason is that Richardson probably shouldn't have been on the field in the first place. Steichen is letting his quarterback controversy play out in public, and the coach is risking his top two quarterbacks to injury by playing them in meaningless games.
Ultimately, Anthony Richardson appears set to recover from a dislocated pinky, the result of his being sacked by Ojabo. He threw on the sidelines after being hit, but had already been ruled out. Indianapolis Colts fans can likely assume Richardson will be injured again, unfortunately, but his poor play might be never-ending.