BroBible
More than anything else, what Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson needs right now is game time. Unfortunately, that’s hard to get when Richardson continues to get injured, and he has nobody to blame but himself for the latest ailment.
Through two NFL seasons, the 23-year-old former first-round pick has played in just 15 regular-season NFL games. Richardson played in four games as a rookie before a shoulder injury cut his season short. He then played in 11 games in 2024 before losing his starting job to veteran Joe Flacco.
Richardson now enters his third season in the NFL in the battle with fellow former first-rounder Daniel Jones for the Colts’ starting QB job. He got the first chance to impress in Indianapolis’ preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. But things didn’t go according to plan.
Richardson started the game solidly enough, completing two of his first three passes for 21 yards. But he didn’t stay in the game very long.
This is day 1 empty protection install. Bummer Richardson didn’t see it https://t.co/QYNj2ftXNm pic.twitter.com/KeL7fHUEci
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) August 7, 2025
Midway through the first quarter, the Colts lined up in 11 personnel on a second-and-10. That meant they had one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers on the field. Baltimore showed a blitz look, with six defenders up near the line of scrimmage.
Indiapolis, and namely Richardson, countered this look by sliding the offensive line to the left to either pick up the blitz or allow a free rusher to come from as far away as possible. Unfortunately, Richardson either didn’t understand the protection or didn’t understand the play.
Rather than looking to his two hot route options, the QB worked to the opposite side the field, and when defensive end David Ojabo came unblocked, he absolutely leveled the Colts’ signal caller.
Richardson left the game the game with a finger injury and did not return.
This was obviously Richardson’s fault. Former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz explained as much, as did former quarterbacks Chase Daniel and Kurt Warner, the latter of whom is a Hall of Famer. Schwartz and Daniel referred to the mistake as “day 1” stuff.
“That’s a five-man protection right there, and that’s the hot side right there,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said in his postgame press conference. “That’s what happened.”
Steichen believes his quarterback should’ve known where the unblocked defender was coming from and gotten the ball out sooner.
“I definitely looked at it. That’s a tricky one because it’s five-man pro and hot from the backside,” Richardson said postgame. “I’ve just got to get my eyes to be able to react to that. It was just five-man pro playing hot. I need to be on my Ps and Qs when it comes to that.”
Richardson is a wildly gifted athlete....
