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WESTFIELD – It’s been close to 600 days since Anthony Richardson Sr. has played a meaningful NFL snap, and for former fourth-overall draft picks entering their fourth season, preseason games wouldn’t typically fit that bill.
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But Richardson’s situation is unique, as a quarterback who started 15 times for the Colts in his first two seasons and finished with a winning record, lost the starting job entering Year 3, nearly lost his right eye to a freak pre-game accident last October and hasn’t taken the field since.
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For Richardson, who told reporters Sunday he’s uncertain of the status of his request to seek a trade – “I haven’t really talked to my agent about that recently. I haven’t really talked to anyone about that recently, so I’m not necessarily sure what’s going on with that,” he said – Thursday’s road preseason game in Foxboro, Mass., against the Patriots represents a chance for Richardson to show the world what he still can do.
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Barring injury to Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones, Richardson’s next regular season start in the NFL will come elsewhere.
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“(Thursday) is just about continuing my repetition and the work I’ve been putting in. I feel like being out there managing the game and processing the live action plays, that can help me get back into the groove and feel everything out,” Richardson said. “I’m excited for it. I’ve been preparing for it.
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“We’ll see what’s going on Thursday.”
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Buy Colts tickets
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Colts head coach Shane Steichen told reporters after Sunday’s training camp practice that Richardson and Riley Leonard would split snaps in Thursday’s preseason kickoff, but what workload and what order they will play is yet to be determined. The pair of young quarterbacks have consistently split reps and series with the second and third offensive units through the Colts’ first nine days of training camp, and both players have flourished at times and flashed glaring weaknesses.
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For Richardson, the most glaring weakness is catching shotgun snaps, along with fumbling snaps while under center as recently as Thursday’s night practice.
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Outside a couple shotgun snaps that sailed over the backups’ heads in the first couple days of training camp, Jones and Leonard largely haven’t dealt with the same struggles as Richardson. He said Sunday his difficulty had, in part, come from the continuous rotation of new centers he’s caught snaps from as offensive linemen circulate through the second and third teams.
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“It’s been good switching out reps with the twos and the threes, and you get different centers out there, and (the coaches) are trying to figure out who’s going to be the backup,” Richardson said. “I’m just getting different landmarks on the snaps with different guys and focusing on getting the snap to me and securing the catch before I start processing the play downfield.”
\n
Richardson deflected the idea that his vision had anything to do with the missed snaps – most have hit his hands or, at minimum, found him around his midsection. He told reporters in December, as he returned to the practice field nearly three months after fracturing his orbital bone, that his vision of things close to his body was not back to normal and catching snaps was a struggle. In April, Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters that Richardson was “still recovering a little bit,” and it’s not presently clear if Richardson’s vision is back to where it was before his injury.
\n
On Sunday, Richardson told reporters his inconsistency catching snaps came as he adjusted to the ramped-up speed and urgency of camp practices this past week as the team put pads on. The backup, though, dropped five snaps in the third practice of camp on July 31, three days before the team put pads on.
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“I think just because of the tempo with everything sped up once you put the pads on, it’s a more live-game rep – not just 7-on-7,” Richardson said of his snap catching struggles. “I think it was just an adjustment putting the pads back on and getting right.
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“I was trying a few different things with my hands to see if I could catch the snap a little differently, and I started putting my hands out a little bit more, and it’s been helping me. It’s just a little adjustment. We’ve got pads on now, bullets flying and guys running fast around, so I feel like I’ve figured it out.”
\n
When asked about Richardson’s struggles gathering the snap, the Colts head coach said it boiled down to “concentration.”
\n
“Just getting the snaps, seeing it in, and go from there,” Steichen said of what he needed to see from Richardson. “The guy that’s going to be the most consistent is going to win that job.
\n
“Those guys are battling. It’s back-and-forth right now. Obviously, we will grade the tape, go through it and get better every day. I think there’s been flashes (of good things from both players), but there’s got to be work done for sure.”
\n
Richardson told reporters Sunday he’s put a heightened emphasis on being more consistent with his off-the-field work and preparation than during his first three years in the NFL. It’s produced mixed results, he admitted.
\n
“Just discipline, consistency, staying in the playbook, coming out here and making sure my footwork and everything’s on point and just taking it day-by-day,” he said. “I feel like I can improve on a lot of things. My decision making, I feel like I’m on-point with the ball. I feel like it’s going to the right spots. Sometimes, it’s not the best ball, but I feel like my decision-making has been pretty good so far in camp.
\n
“Managing the offense, I feel like I can be a little better at that some plays. I can help the guys out a little bit more to just manage things. It’s not my best camp, but it’s also not my worst.”
\n
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After starting the first game of his NFL career in Year 1, then making 11 starts in Year 2 and battling for the starting job in camp in Year 3, Richardson’s fourth training camp has come with a far different role, as he battles for the backup job with Leonard, a second-year player who the Colts selected in the sixth-round in 2025. As Richardson takes snaps with an ever-changing group of players – many of them young, inexperienced or journeyman vets rather than the starters he’s traditionally played with, he said the experience has forced him to attempt to take more “command” of his role and the offensive unit in general.
\n
“It forces you to be more of a field general out there for the guys, and it forces me to be more in my playbook so I can be on point and help those guys,” he said. “But the reps are reps, whether I’m with the first, second or third team. All reps count. You’ve got to make them count, and I haven’t necessarily been thinking of this as a QB competition because I feel like I’m just trying to put my best foot forward, and then the team can make their decision for the betterment of the team.
\n
“The rhythm is there, and the plays are there for me to make. I’ve just got to make them and not worry about anything else.”
\n
Richardson triggered a $4.2 million roster bonus on Aug. 1, leaving just his $1.145 million base salary as the final cash owed to him on the final year of his rookie contract – theoretically making Richardson a more appealing option for a team in need of an addition to their quarterback room. Whether that might happen is anyone’s guess – Richardson included.
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“If that’s what the team wants, that’s what I want,” said Richardson Sunday when asked if he expected to be on the Colts’ regular season 53-man roster. “I just want to be able to help the team, and if it’s this team, then I thank God for it. I’m just ready to showcase what I can do and be a winning piece to help this team win.”
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Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
\n
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts Anthony Richardson battles for backup QB spot with issues catching snaps, trade request
Continue reading...
\n
But Richardson’s situation is unique, as a quarterback who started 15 times for the Colts in his first two seasons and finished with a winning record, lost the starting job entering Year 3, nearly lost his right eye to a freak pre-game accident last October and hasn’t taken the field since.
\n
For Richardson, who told reporters Sunday he’s uncertain of the status of his request to seek a trade – “I haven’t really talked to my agent about that recently. I haven’t really talked to anyone about that recently, so I’m not necessarily sure what’s going on with that,” he said – Thursday’s road preseason game in Foxboro, Mass., against the Patriots represents a chance for Richardson to show the world what he still can do.
\n
Barring injury to Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones, Richardson’s next regular season start in the NFL will come elsewhere.
\n
“(Thursday) is just about continuing my repetition and the work I’ve been putting in. I feel like being out there managing the game and processing the live action plays, that can help me get back into the groove and feel everything out,” Richardson said. “I’m excited for it. I’ve been preparing for it.
\n
“We’ll see what’s going on Thursday.”
\n
Buy Colts tickets
\n
Colts head coach Shane Steichen told reporters after Sunday’s training camp practice that Richardson and Riley Leonard would split snaps in Thursday’s preseason kickoff, but what workload and what order they will play is yet to be determined. The pair of young quarterbacks have consistently split reps and series with the second and third offensive units through the Colts’ first nine days of training camp, and both players have flourished at times and flashed glaring weaknesses.
\n
For Richardson, the most glaring weakness is catching shotgun snaps, along with fumbling snaps while under center as recently as Thursday’s night practice.
\n
Outside a couple shotgun snaps that sailed over the backups’ heads in the first couple days of training camp, Jones and Leonard largely haven’t dealt with the same struggles as Richardson. He said Sunday his difficulty had, in part, come from the continuous rotation of new centers he’s caught snaps from as offensive linemen circulate through the second and third teams.
\n
“It’s been good switching out reps with the twos and the threes, and you get different centers out there, and (the coaches) are trying to figure out who’s going to be the backup,” Richardson said. “I’m just getting different landmarks on the snaps with different guys and focusing on getting the snap to me and securing the catch before I start processing the play downfield.”
\n
Richardson deflected the idea that his vision had anything to do with the missed snaps – most have hit his hands or, at minimum, found him around his midsection. He told reporters in December, as he returned to the practice field nearly three months after fracturing his orbital bone, that his vision of things close to his body was not back to normal and catching snaps was a struggle. In April, Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters that Richardson was “still recovering a little bit,” and it’s not presently clear if Richardson’s vision is back to where it was before his injury.
\n
On Sunday, Richardson told reporters his inconsistency catching snaps came as he adjusted to the ramped-up speed and urgency of camp practices this past week as the team put pads on. The backup, though, dropped five snaps in the third practice of camp on July 31, three days before the team put pads on.
\n
“I think just because of the tempo with everything sped up once you put the pads on, it’s a more live-game rep – not just 7-on-7,” Richardson said of his snap catching struggles. “I think it was just an adjustment putting the pads back on and getting right.
\n
“I was trying a few different things with my hands to see if I could catch the snap a little differently, and I started putting my hands out a little bit more, and it’s been helping me. It’s just a little adjustment. We’ve got pads on now, bullets flying and guys running fast around, so I feel like I’ve figured it out.”
\n
When asked about Richardson’s struggles gathering the snap, the Colts head coach said it boiled down to “concentration.”
\n
“Just getting the snaps, seeing it in, and go from there,” Steichen said of what he needed to see from Richardson. “The guy that’s going to be the most consistent is going to win that job.
\n
“Those guys are battling. It’s back-and-forth right now. Obviously, we will grade the tape, go through it and get better every day. I think there’s been flashes (of good things from both players), but there’s got to be work done for sure.”
\n
Richardson told reporters Sunday he’s put a heightened emphasis on being more consistent with his off-the-field work and preparation than during his first three years in the NFL. It’s produced mixed results, he admitted.
\n
“Just discipline, consistency, staying in the playbook, coming out here and making sure my footwork and everything’s on point and just taking it day-by-day,” he said. “I feel like I can improve on a lot of things. My decision making, I feel like I’m on-point with the ball. I feel like it’s going to the right spots. Sometimes, it’s not the best ball, but I feel like my decision-making has been pretty good so far in camp.
\n
“Managing the offense, I feel like I can be a little better at that some plays. I can help the guys out a little bit more to just manage things. It’s not my best camp, but it’s also not my worst.”
\n
\n
After starting the first game of his NFL career in Year 1, then making 11 starts in Year 2 and battling for the starting job in camp in Year 3, Richardson’s fourth training camp has come with a far different role, as he battles for the backup job with Leonard, a second-year player who the Colts selected in the sixth-round in 2025. As Richardson takes snaps with an ever-changing group of players – many of them young, inexperienced or journeyman vets rather than the starters he’s traditionally played with, he said the experience has forced him to attempt to take more “command” of his role and the offensive unit in general.
\n
“It forces you to be more of a field general out there for the guys, and it forces me to be more in my playbook so I can be on point and help those guys,” he said. “But the reps are reps, whether I’m with the first, second or third team. All reps count. You’ve got to make them count, and I haven’t necessarily been thinking of this as a QB competition because I feel like I’m just trying to put my best foot forward, and then the team can make their decision for the betterment of the team.
\n
“The rhythm is there, and the plays are there for me to make. I’ve just got to make them and not worry about anything else.”
\n
Richardson triggered a $4.2 million roster bonus on Aug. 1, leaving just his $1.145 million base salary as the final cash owed to him on the final year of his rookie contract – theoretically making Richardson a more appealing option for a team in need of an addition to their quarterback room. Whether that might happen is anyone’s guess – Richardson included.
\n
“If that’s what the team wants, that’s what I want,” said Richardson Sunday when asked if he expected to be on the Colts’ regular season 53-man roster. “I just want to be able to help the team, and if it’s this team, then I thank God for it. I’m just ready to showcase what I can do and be a winning piece to help this team win.”
\n
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
\n
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts Anthony Richardson battles for backup QB spot with issues catching snaps, trade request
Continue reading...
