Colts' Anthony Richardson Gets Big Vote of Confidence

The tides have turned in the Indianapolis Colts quarterback competition after head coach Shane Steichen revealed Anthony Richardson is dealing with new soreness in his throwing shoulder.

Critics have begun boosting Daniel Jones' name after a string of solid practices, but the competition has just begun. Once training camp rolls around, Colts coaches must decide when the signal callers get to share first-team reps.

Richardson has been Indy's Week 1 starter for the past two seasons. In that time, Richardson has started 15 games but has left early due to injury in three of them. With just under 350 pass attempts at the professional level, it's been a struggle to develop Richardson as a "project quarterback".

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: #Colts QB Anthony Richardson should be OK after a shoulder scare in minicamp, and the second opinion backed that up. No surgery needed. Richardson should be healthy by training camp and ready for competition. pic.twitter.com/gcfVCGu0bH
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 13, 2025

Still, there are believers in Richardson. In a new interview, 11-year veteran quarterback Rex Grossman talked about Richardson, saying that he thinks Richardson will be "great" in a few years.

“I've been a fan of his since he first started playing at Florida, throwing bombs on the money, doing flip celebrations, running for 70-yard touchdowns," said Grossman (via CardPlayer). "He has literally the best physical skill-set in the NFL. When he gets a little older, he's going to be great. Hopefully his shoulder’s fine, and he can start right away, and prove to everybody that he's getting better. Then he can get those reps, and he can build the trust from the organization."

"He's got all the tools. If I were the Colts, I'd figure out a way to keep him and let him, at some point, get those reps. If they move on, someone's going to find a gem. Maybe an unpolished gem that could turn out to be a great player. I'm rooting for him, but you got to get reps out there to get better.”

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Through two seasons, Richardson has tallied 11 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and 10 rushing touchdowns. He's thrown for 2,391 yards on a 50.6% completion rate, a stat that has worried experts across the league.

Anthony Richardson doing what he can pic.twitter.com/BDjMNtxnat
— Kent Sterling (@KentSterling) June 12, 2025

Richardson's accuracy struggle was a worry coming into the league, but it's been hard to fix considering the few games he's played. Grossman thinks the same as everyone else: Richardson needs to stay on the field to get better.

"As a young quarterback – and especially as young as he is, that didn't have a ton of reps of Florida – he needs game experience," continued Grossman. "He's got all the talent in the world. He's big, strong, fast, and when he sees it right, he puts it on the money. You have to go through all these reps to where you don't think about anything, and you can just kind of be out there feeling zone or man or pressure, and subtly reacting without thinking about it. That only comes with reps. If he's not on the field, he's not going to get better. I don't care how much talent you have. You have to go through some struggles and success to build that muscle memory, that subconscious play that really helps."

On top of needing reps, Grossman thinks that earning the trust of the organization would go a long way for Richardson. The spotlight has been on Richardson for so long that when he makes a mistake, it's consequences are amplified. When Richardson "tapped out" of the game for one play, he earned himself a spot on the bench for the next three games.

There can be no tap-outs this year. If Richardson can't stay on the field, there's no way he'll develop into the guy the Colts drafted him to be. Once he gets those reps, Grossman thinks Richardson could be a gem.

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