Caleb Harris
Last season, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson showed all the skills that made him the fourth overall pick in 2023. NFL Draft. Richardson completed 59.5% of his passes while averaging 6.9 yards per attempt and averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Unfortunately, he only played parts of four games due to a concussion followed by a shoulder injury. He finished his rookie campaign with just 84 passes and rushed 25 times, although he totaled 713 yards, seven scores, one interception and one lost fumble on those plays.
Richardson has been rehabbing since last October, but according to Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, that’s not all he’s been doing. Richardson entered the offseason program with a different mindset and a different level of knowledge about how to play the position.
“Hearing him talk about some of the footwork stuff, all the fundamentals and details of the quarterback position, hearing what he’s been working on with the guys he works with and how he was doing that in conjunction with recovery. healthy, didn’t look like a rookie quarterback fresh out of the draft,” said Cooter, through MMQB. “Anthony was extremely professional in discussing these things with Cam Turner and some of the other guys in the building. … It was evident that we didn’t have another rookie on our hands. That was for sure.”
Cooter thinks the rehab process has really helped Richardson take a step back and look at the bigger picture of quarterback play.
“There is real value in getting away,” says Cooter. “Anthony was so interested in what he needed to do in meetings, in training and in games, that it was valuable for him to escape and recharge mentally at the end of the season and focus on his health. for a long time, without me insisting, Anthony, he starts asking us what he can do to improve. He’s ready to talk about this passing concept. to look? What other quarterback should I watch?'”
As for how he can stay healthy in the future after suffering two injuries in five games, Colts coach Shane Steichen has some ideas.
“It’s just being smart when you come down,” Steichen said. “There’s a happy medium. There’s a time and a place, where it’s fourth down and you’ve got to have it and the game’s on the line, where you’ve got to go get it. But if it’s first and 10 – we had this conversation today – and you try hard, and you can get to second to 4 and take a big hit, or get to second to 6 and go down, hey, let’s get to second to 6.”
Richardson’s ability to make plays with his legs inside and outside the structure of the offense is a big part of what makes him so unique as a player. You don’t want to take that away from him. Richardson has more than enough size and strength to gain every yard of every rushing attempt if he wants, and as Steichen said, there are certain times and places where it’s probably not worth taking a hit, and you can live to fight. another down. If he can find the right balance, Richardson could stay on the field to provide the Colts with more of these types of plays.
