Colts' Anthony Richardson Sr. makes big admission about 'tapping out' controversy

Long before Anthony Richardson Sr. officially lost the competition for the Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback job to Daniel Jones in August, Richardson was benched for a pair of games last fall after he temporarily took himself out of a contest because he was "tired."

During a recent chat with James Boyd of The Athletic, Richardson noted that he shouldn't have "tapped out" of that October 2024 matchup versus the Houston Texans.

"Yeah, I shouldn’t have said (I was tired)," Richardson acknowledged. "I shouldn’t have come out the game. But you live and you learn, you know? You grow from stuff like that."

This past December, Colts head coach Shane Steichen suggested that Richardson "made great strides" and showed "great growth in all aspects of his game" following the short-lived demotion. However, the 2023 first-round draft pick also missed 17 games due to injury over his first two pro seasons. 

Most recently, Richardson suffered a dislocated right pinkie after he failed to recognize pressure and took a huge hit in Indianapolis' preseason opener back in August. It was later revealed that Jones' handling of the pre-snap portion of the job is one reason he'll be Indianapolis' starter for its Week 1 game versus the Miami Dolphins this coming Sunday. 

"It’s everything you could think of, bro," Richardson said about what he worked on before losing the QB1 gig to Jones. "Extra film, like even if you’re watching film with other quarterbacks or in the QB room with the coach, that’s not enough. Doing more of that, talking to coach (Steichen) more, understanding the offense more, being around the guys more. … Everything that you can control, that’s pretty much what I needed to improve on."

Colts general manager Chris Ballard has insisted he's not trading Richardson anytime soon and instead wants the 23-year-old to be "one play away from" possibly being called into action against the Dolphins. Richardson seems to realize such an opportunity could be the last he gets to show his current employer he can be its long-term answer at the sport's most important position. 

"Everybody knows how the business goes," Richardson added. "If it doesn’t work out with me, then people gotta make decisions. But none of us are thinking like that. We’re thinking about winning because if you think about failure, then that’s what you’re going to lead to. We’re thinking about success, we’re thinking about work and thinking about ways we can improve this team. …If we’re worried about getting fired or losing our jobs, then we’re worried about the wrong thing. Personally, I love the pressure. That’s the only way you get better."

For now, Richardson will only get to display how he's getting better during midweek practices unless Jones goes down with an injury or is benched due to poor play.