Colts OC addresses how Anthony Richardson Sr. is handling losing starting job to Daniel Jones

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard insisted in late August that he is "not trading" Anthony Richardson Sr. after the 2023 first-round draft pick lost the competition for the team's starting quarterback job to free-agency signing Daniel Jones.

More recently, Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter spoke with reporters and addressed how Richardson is handling this latest benching. 

"Anthony has been a great teammate throughout, and he’s been a great — he’s going about his business the right way here in the meeting room and getting ready for this season," Cooter said, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "[Head coach Shane Steichen] said it. If you’re the backup for any position, you’re one play away. You’ve got to prepare. You’ve got to be ready to go. Anthony’s been preparing well. Like I said, he’s been a great teammate, which is important in this situation. Any of these types of situations are tests for any of us — and he’s doing a nice job there, and looking forward to watching him grow and develop as we go."

Before Richardson suffered a dislocated right pinkie in Indianapolis' preseason opener back in August, he missed 17 games because of injury setbacks over his first two pro seasons. Additionally, he was benched for two weeks last fall after he took himself out of a contest because he was "tired."

While Richardson has since acknowledged he "shouldn’t have come out" of the October 2024 matchup versus the Houston Texans, previous reports said that demotion was also reportedly related to the 23-year-old's need "to improve his game preparation and better understand the gravity of the job." 

Ahead of Indianapolis' Week 1 game against the Miami Dolphins, Cooter hinted Richardson is meeting expectations while serving as a full-time QB2. 

"I think he’s continuing to learn the exact sort of right process for himself, and that might be different in the offseason than training camp, in training camp than the season," Cooter added about Richardson. "...It might be watching a different tape at a different time. It might be doing some sort of recovery tactic at a different time or trying something new. All that stuff — whatever he’s up to, some of that I’ll let him share or not share as he wants to. But we’re all looking to improve. Sometimes it’s one percent, little small improvements — I see him looking to find those."

Jones' injury history suggests he will struggle to make 17 straight starts for any team at this stage of his career. Thus, Richardson should spend the rest of the week preparing as if he could be called into action to take snaps against the Dolphins at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium.