Colts' Anthony Richardson primed for promotion after opening camp on second team

The rookie fourth overall pick of the Colts is one of the rawest talents the quarterback position has ever seen, and the Colts knew what they were signing up for when they drafted the prospect that had only started 13 career games at Florida. 

Assistant general manager Ed Dodds even voiced his concerns about drafting such an inexperienced player, despite his immense skill set:

“I went into this thing, because of the limited résumé, like, ‘What are we doing?’. There's 13 games. That's where I started.”

The staff in Indianapolis then had to make a decision: would they throw Richardson into the fire from day one, or let him learn the system under Gardner Minshew for a few games?

It seems the answer to that question has yet to be answered one day into training camp. Michael Villegas, who is covering Colts camp for FOX59, reported Wednesday morning that Richardson was running with the second team during camp, at least for now: 

GM Chris Ballard acknowledges that the Colts need to throw their young QB out there to get as many reps as possible so that he can develop:

“The more live-bullet reps — like we can go through camp and get every rep we can, but until you’re in a game and you’re actually getting those live-bullet reps, it’s hard to really grow and get better. They have to be ready to handle — because there is going to be some successes, but there is going to be some failure too along the way.”

If the goal is to get Richardson rolling, it doesn’t sound like he’ll stay on the second team for long. Ballard also mentioned the caveat that hinders many young prospects:

“You want them to be ready to be able to handle enough of the offense where we can give him enough tools to where they can perform and have success. You want to be able to set him up to have some success early — not just all downhill.”

Richardson has had a nearly perfect start with his new team, however. 

He shouldn’t have too much of a problem with mental readiness, according to teammate WR Michael Pittman, Jr.

With the effort he puts in to understand the game, coupled with his inhuman physical traits, Richardson should clearly “be able to handle enough of the offense” for Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen to pull him up to the first team. 

Though Richardson is watching Minshew from the wings for now, it should surprise no one if his team makes the switch to their rookie at some point during camp.