Stampede Blue
The first preseason game is fun, at least for a little while for the average fan. Finally seeing Indianapolis Colts football on television after a long offseason is exciting. Fans eagerly awaited the return of Anthony Richardson anticipating improved quarterback play. What started off well with some on target throws fell off the rails the first time he got hit, as it knocked him out for the rest of the game. Richardson is shrugging the dislocated pinky off as nothing much, but it could shape things to come. Unfortunately, for the Colts, it wasn’t Thursday’s only bad news.
Before diving further into Richardson, the Colts released disappointing news regarding rookie Justin Walley. He will miss the entire season with a torn ACL. He was looking like a sneaky candidate to take the second starting cornerback position with both Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents sidelined with hamstring injuries. Although the injury to Jones is being reported as more severe than Brents, there is no official timetable to return for either man. That made Walley that much more important. Now, the weakened depth took yet another hit as he will be on the sideline for all of 2025.
With the second cornerback position now in flux, the quarterback position could be as well. Not to get ahead of things because a dislocated pinky isn’t the end of the world, but it does lend itself to a few thoughts: Richardson got hit once and was knocked out of a game…oh boy, here we go, and what effect will this have moving forward? It’s almost as if someone predicted an injury could open the door for Daniel Jones. This could certainly change things. Will Richardson be back for the Colts second preseason game on August 16th? He most likely will be, but there is no guarantee. How much time is missed in the meantime? How many more first team reps will Jones get because of it? It is imperative to stress that Richardson cannot miss time. He needs every single rep he can get. Even missing a few days of practice at this point is discouraging.
It is also discouraging that he got hurt…on the first hit. This does not help the narrative that Anthony Richardson is injury prone. Being labeled as a glass quarterback is tough but starting to become fair. His injury history reads of a ten year pro, not a player entering his third year. Health will be imperative. Yes, his regular line wasn’t out there but neither was the Ravens’. Richardson understands he blew that play and paid the price for it. The best hope is he will learn from it. The sliver lining is that it is only a dislocated pinky. Next time, however, Richardson might not be so lucky.
