What is really going on with the eye health of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson? No one seems to know for sure. After breaking an orbital bone in pregame warmups to Week 6, Richardson had surgery and missed the rest of the season. He was able to return to practice, but he appeared to suffer from some blurred vision.
The team appears to think that might not go away for a while. No one involved with the Colts has stated since the regular season ended that Richardson will definitely be back, most likely as QB2. In fact, in his season-end press conference, general manager Chris Ballard even mentioned Richardson when talking about Riley Leonard.
The implication was that Leonard might be QB2 at the beginning of the 2026 season, as AR5 still needs to prove he is healthy enough to be counted on should he have to play meaningful snaps. He can still throw and run, but can he see the entire field?
Indianapolis Colts clearly don't know what the future holds for Anthony Richardson
Moreover, just because Richardson can practice doesn't mean he can play. The Colts might not even want him to. Even a fully healthy Richardson hasn't yet shown he can be any better than Leonard was in Week 18 against the Houston Texans. AR5 got his chance to start in his first two seasons, and he was inefficient and consistently made poor reads.
Still, Ballard is obviously not confident that Anthony Richardson will be back next season. Not just because of his previous poor play, but because of his eye issue.
"It was great to get him back out to practice for that three weeks where we at least got him back involved in the team and moving again," Chris Ballard said. "But he's still gotta work through the vision he has, and we'll see what the future holds there. A little bit of bad luck. We'll see going forward how that ends up plays out. A lot of it's going to deal with his health, too."
It is somewhat unclear if Ballard is talking about two separate issues with Richardson's health. He mentions "health" specifically, but also the eye problem. That makes sense as Richardson hasn't been consistently healthy in his career, and was even hurt while not playing in games in 2025. He seems a bit snake-bit.
The shame is that the quarterback appears to be a decent human being and wants to succeed. Ballard even mentioned as much, saying, "He's a great teammate. Never sulked, never complained (after being benched for Daniel Jones). (Richardson) was doing a great job as a backup quarterback."
What seems clear is that no matter whether Daniel Jones is re-signed in free agency or not, the Indianapolis Colts do not know what the future is for Anthony Richardson. Will his vision return in full after he was struck in the eye by the bar of a stretch band before Week 6? That cannot be known for sure until it happens.