During his rookie season, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson showcased his extraordinary skill set. He completed 60% of his passes at an average of 6.9 yards per attempt, with a 3-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and he also averaged 5.4 yards per carry and added four scores on the ground. And he did all that while playing in only four games.
Of course, the reason he played only four games is that he left two of them early due to injury. He sustained a concussion in one game, then injured his shoulder in another. The latter injury required season-ending surgery.
Fast forward eight months, and Richardson is still in the rehab process but is also participating in the Colts' offseason program. On Wednesday, there was some concern stirred up by a report that Richardson had the shoulder looked at by trainers multiple times.
On Thursday, Colts coach Shane Steichen confirmed that Richardson had soreness in his shoulder. But both he and Richardson himself downplayed the issue. Steichen said that Richardson is "fine" and that people could "rest assured" that if there were a game this week, Richardson would play in it.
Richardson echoed his coach's sentiments. "There's nothing to worry about," he said, via The Athletic.
Indianapolis has talked about the need to keep Richardson healthy in his second season and beyond, with both Steichen and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter discussing ways he can protect himself from taking unnecessary hits.
"It's just being smart on when to get down," Steichen said last month. "There's a happy medium. There's a time and a place, where it's fourth down and you gotta have it and the game's on the line, where you gotta go get it. But if it's first-and-10 -- we had this conversation today -- and you scramble, and you can make it second-and-4 and take a big hit, or make it second-and-6 and get down, hey, let's make it second-and-6."
Richardson has an enviable skill set, with a strong arm and elite rushing abilities thanks to his combination of size, strength, speed, agility, and vision. Keeping him on the field is of the utmost importance, and managing the shoulder issue during the offseason is obviously part of that. Closely watching the developments with that injury is understandable, but soreness following surgery is pretty standard.
