Anthony Richardson's latest injury shows why Colts brought in Daniel Jones
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts knew they had to prepare for something like this.
Even though the team had no way of knowing Anthony Richardson's surgically repaired right shoulder would suddenly develop into a problem again this summer.
But one of the lessons of Richardson's first two NFL seasons is that the possibility of injury cannot be ignored, and while everybody outside the building has spent most of their time debating the merits of an open competition based on the inconsistencies of Richardson's development, the reality is Richardson's injury history played a central, inescapable role in the team's decision to sign Daniel Jones.
Indianapolis hasn't been trying to hide its motivation.
'The No. 1 thing we have to figure out, and what Anthony's got to work through, is staying healthy,' GM Chris Ballard said in January. 'He's got to be able to stay healthy. And that to me, is probably the biggest question right now, because now we're going on two seasons in a row where he's dealt with injuries.'
Predicting a player's ability to stay healthy might be an NFL general manager's toughest task. For every player who can't shake the injury bug, there's an exception to the rule.
Drew Brees couldn't get Miami's team doctors to clear his surgically repaired right shoulder after a devastating injury in San Diego; Brees signed with the Saints instead and didn't miss a game due to injury for the next nine seasons.
Matthew Stafford played in just 13 of a possible 32 games in his first two seasons with Detroit, undergoing the same surgery to repair his AC joint that Richardson went through as a rookie, then played every game for the next eight seasons.
The Colts could hope for a story like Brees or Stafford.
Indianapolis had to prepare for the possibility that Richardson's injury issues would continue.
'We've got to have competition at the position, just for one, for the fact that competition makes everybody better,' Ballard said in January. 'And then two, he's not proven he can play 17 games.'
The actual numbers are worse.
Richardson has missed 17 of a possible 34 games in his first two seasons due to injury. Drafted with the No. 4 pick in 2023 to develop into the franchise quarterback the Colts desperately need, Richardson missed a game with a concussion as a rookie, suffered a sprained AC joint that cost him the rest of his rookie season, got knocked to the sideline for two more games by a Pittsburgh hit in October of 2024 and then missed the final two games of the season due to back spasms that stemmed from a disc issue discovered on an MRI.
A midseason benching in 2024 somewhat complicates the numbers.
But Richardson has never started more than five games in a row in the NFL.
When Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen kept saying the team needed consistency at the position this offseason, most people thought about Richardson's accuracy issues.
Consistency is also about having the same quarterback in the huddle for more than five games at a time.
For all of the justifiable criticism about the Colts' decision to hand a raw prospect like Richardson the starting job right away, the injuries have arguably limited the young quarterback's development more than any other factor, and it goes beyond Richardson losing an entire offseason to rehabilitation after his rookie season.
An NFL coaching staff typically needs half a season to learn a new quarterback, find what he does best and tailor the offense to his skill set.
When Steichen was Philadelphia's offensive coordinator, the Eagles treaded water for the first half of the 2021 season, then made drastic, sweeping changes to the offense and set Jalen Hurts on a path to a Super Bowl.
Philadelphia is far from the only team to go through that cycle. Green Bay's Jordan Love didn't hit his stride until midway through his first season as a starter. Houston's C.J. Stroud had to go through a rough October stretch as a rookie. Before Richardson arrived in Indianapolis, the post-Andrew Luck Colts often started slow with a new quarterback at the helm each year, then found a rhythm once the staff had time to learn the quarterback's tendencies and tailor the offense to his skill set.
Injuries haven't given Steichen and the rest of the Colts offensive staff a chance to learn Richardson the same way. A surprising start to his rookie season was cut short by the sprained AC joint he suffered in 2023. Indianapolis spent too much time hunting the big play after Richardson's eye-popping highlights in the opener against Houston, but he was also knocked out of the Pittsburgh game just three weeks later, throwing the offensive picture into chaos for the rest of the season.
The Colts headed into the offseason looking for something they could count on at quarterback.
Anthony Richardson injury: Colts QB Anthony Richardson to miss mandatory minicamp due to injury to throwing shoulder
''I think it's the most consistent guy,' Steichen said at the beginning of the quarterback competition in April. 'At the end of the day, you've got to be able to move the football consistently up and down the field, and (be) making good decisions, you know what I mean? … You can have splash plays, but if you're doing that sparingly and up and down – I think it's got to be on a consistent basis, to get to where we want to go.'
Availability is a key component of consistency, and it is still too early to know how Richardson's latest setback will affect him moving forward.
The Colts have set no timetable for Richardson's return, although Steichen believes the quarterback will be back at some point in training camp. The possibility remains that this week's shoulder injury ends up being the final hurdle before Richardson puts his injury issues behind him.
But Indianapolis can't bet on that happening.
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