Profiting on Potential: Anthony Richardson

Profiting on Potential: Anthony Richardson

The Prince That was Promised

As stated before, the ceiling on the potential of Richardson is extremely high. He has all the intangibles that a franchise is looking for in a franchise quarterback. Many people who work in the NFL, or the NFL media, have compared him to former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. He has the height, the arm, and the strength to be able to live up to the comparisons. What he lacks, though, is availability, consistency, and basic quarterback knowledge. In 3 years in the NFL, Richardson has only played 17 games and has only completed 50% of his passes. With that being said, due to the injuries and lack of performance, he has not been able to stay on the field. The story of Anthony Richardson is leaving many people in the NFL scratching their heads about what the Colts are going to do with the 23-year-old quarterback.

The Best Ability is Availability

When a player is drafted, especially with a top 5 pick, their franchise expects them to be able to stay on the field. That is something the Colts haven’t gotten out of Richardson at this point in his career. As stated above, in 3 seasons, Richardson has only played in 17 games. Now, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing if he were sitting behind a quarterback to try and develop. That wasn’t the case when he was drafted. The plan for Richardson was for him to start from day one.

Rookie Troubles

In Richardson’s rookie year in 2023, he only played in 4 games. In week 3 of the season, he exited the game against the Houston Texans early with a concussion. Following that, Richardson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in week 5. That would lead to veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew starting the rest of the year for the Colts. The team would end up finishing 9-8 that season and missed the playoffs by one game.

Sophomore Slump

Now in 2024,  Richardson would end up increasing his games played up to 11. However, the quarterback’s sophomore season was full of ups and downs. His main goal coming into that season was to find a way to make sure he stayed on the field. And through the first 3 weeks of the season, it seemed he was going to accomplish that. Then came week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Richardson ended up leaving this game early due to an oblique injury. This then sidelined him for weeks 5 and 6 as well. This would result in Joe Flacco coming on to replace him for those weeks. He would then return for week 7, but then in week 8, things started to unravel once again.

In week 8, the Colts faced the Houston Texans. Midway through the game, TV cameras picked up the quarterback tapping his helmet and exiting the game. Many believed that, once again, Richardson had gotten himself hurt for the fourth time in 2 years. After a few plays off, Richardson returns. It was later found out that Richardson had taken himself out of the game because he “just needed a breather”. This decision led to the questioning of Richardson’s conditioning, consistency, preparation, and overall leadership. The coaching staff of the Colts didn’t take this choice lightly, and benched him for weeks 9 and 10.

Richardson would return to his starting role in week 11 of that season and showed progress in his play. Unfortunately for him, the injury bug would once again come back to bite. Richardson was ruled out for weeks 17 and 18 to end the 2024 season with a back issue, and the Colts finished 8-9, missing the playoffs once again.

Third Times the Charm

Now in 2025, the Colts brought in Daniel Jones to compete for the starting spot. Richardson ultimately lost the starting position and camp and probably won’t get it back for the rest of the season. Mainly because Jones has been playing outstanding this season, but secondly, Richardson has found himself on the IR once again. The injury this season was a rather strange one. Richardson was warming up with a band at his locker, and the band would break and end up fracturing his orbital bone. This will now be his fifth injury, causing him to miss multiple weeks in 3 years.

AR’s Future

The career of Anthony Richardson will leave many people in the NFL scratching their heads. How can a player with a potential level so high not figure it out? It’s possible that it just was never in the cards for him. On the other hand, maybe a change of scenery could do the young quarterback well. Now, this is not a call for the Colts to part ways with Richardson. However, if they were to do it, there is one team that comes to mind that could “fix” him. And that team would be the Minnesota Vikings.

There are a couple of other avenues Richardson could take. He could stay with the Colts, grow, and develop behind Jones. Or, for a more fun option, consider switching positions. Richardson has the physical makeup and talent to play other skill positions, such as tight end or wide receiver. This is rather unlikely, considering Richardson’s injury history, but it would alleviate the stress of being an NFL quarterback.

Truth being told, nobody will know how Richardson’s career will pan out if he is not on the field. When he is, there isn’t a player with more potential than him. What he needs is reps, and whether he gets them in Indianapolis or somewhere else, the verdict will still not be known. And if he were to make a comeback at a different position, that only builds to the unique case of Anthony Richardson.