Colts' Anthony Richardson discusses playing style after injury-filled season

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson insisted on Wednesday he's not concerned about his durability after he endured multiple physical setbacks as a rookie before he went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in his fourth game.

"I don't think there's any way I could have avoided what happened to me," Richardson explained about the shoulder issue, per Jeremy Bergman of the NFL's website. "Just a regular, routine tackle. I tried to brace myself for the fall and just my shoulder did what it did. There's nothing I could do about that."

Richardson was visibly shaken up late in his regular-season debut before he suffered a concussion the following Sunday. 

Earlier this spring, Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and head coach Shane Steichen both suggested that the fourth overall pick of the 2023 draft must learn when to use his dual-threat skills to make plays and when to get down to avoid punishing blows. 

"Changing my game and my play style? I don't feel like there's anything wrong with my play style," Richardson continued. "People see me, I'm a big quarterback, so they always think, 'Oh, he wants to run the ball all the time, he wants to be physical and that's what's gonna get him hurt.' But that's not the case."

Richardson measured at 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine but also entered the league as a raw prospect who recorded just 13 college starts. The 22-year-old acknowledged on Wednesday that he learned a valuable lesson last September regarding what not to do against NFL defenses. 

"The one time, the one concussion, that was me completely because I slowed down by the end zone -- you're never supposed to do that," Richardson said. "Everything else, it just happened because we play a dangerous game, and there's nothing I can do about that."

As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Richardson fourth among the betting favorites at +750 odds to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award for the 2024 season. To remain in CPOTY conversations through December, he'll need to stay in the lineup for more than a handful of games as a second-year pro. 

"I don't think I'm gonna change it, but being smart, knowing when to get extra yards and knowing when to get down, I feel like I know how to do that," Richardson added about his style. "It's just I have to do it and do it at the right time, I guess."

One wonders how Steichen and the rest of the coaching staff reacted to Richardson's latest comments.