Anthony Richardson hasn't changed, which is good and bad | Whitley
Anthony Richardson returned to TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville on Sunday, the site of his first start as a college quarterback. That game against Georgia did not go as hoped, and neither did this one.
Instead of slinging passes for Indianapolis, Richardson signed autographs for fans. Even that wasn’t easy since his right arm was in a sling.
He’d sprained the AC joint in his shoulder a week earlier, leading to nationwide speculation on what his next move should be. Colts owner Jim Irsay said Monday night that Richardson will probably have season-ending surgery.
“We’re just trying to figure out exactly how and when and what we want to do and what Anthony wants to do,” Irsay told ESPN.
Surgery’s the better immediate option, but the bigger question will linger about our old friend AR.
What to do, what to do?
He could be the ultimate dual-threat quarterback. The guy can outrun everything except his history of injuries. What can you do to minimize the risks and maximize his talents?
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The first thing would be keeping AR healthy. If you know how to do that, please give Indy coach Shane Steichen a call.
He’s wondering, just as Billy Napier and Dan Mullen wondered at Florida, just as Cedderick Daniels wondered at Eastside High.
That’s where the legend of AR began, as did the quandary. Richardson hurt his knee with the Rams and missed the final four games of his senior season with a shoulder injury.
His redshirt freshman season at UF featured a pulled hamstring, a torn meniscus and a concussion. That last one came in Georgia’s 34-7 beatdown at TIAA Bank Field.
The hamstring woes lingered last season, and Richardson’s ankle was never quite right after twisting it in the season’s second game. None of which deterred NFL teams from salivating over Richardson’s potential.
In the Colts’ opener, he became the youngest quarterback in NFL history (21 years, 111 days) to have a passing TD and rushing TD in the same game. He also left that game early with a bruised knee.
Richardson went out with a concussion in his second game. Then came the sprained shoulder. You hate to say the guy’s injury prone, but the medical chart speaks for itself.
The question remains — what can the Colts do about it?
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Replacing their artificial turf with real grass might help, as would beefing up the offensive line. But those would be peripheral moves.
The NFL is becoming a dual-threat league, since having a quarterback who can run opens all sorts of scoring possibilities. The presumption is that it’s safer when QB stays in the pocket, but studies show that’s not necessarily true.
How they run and the quality of the hits they take matter. Lamar Jackson ran 157 times in his 2019 MVP season and was tackled 85 times. He either went out of bounds or was untouched 46% of the time.
But Jackson is elusive like Barry Sanders. Compact and elusive. Richardson is more like Derrick Henry. Big and fast.
Just as it was when North Marion ended his senior season, Richardson remains an inviting target for defenses. The three plays he was hurt on this year were designed runs.
The Colts drafted him for his electrifying running ability. They have to let AR be AR, even if it means he’ll be signing autographs the next week.
Not that fairness has anything to do with it, but Richardson doesn’t deserve life in a sling. He’s not only captured Indianapolis with his football talent, he’s charmed the city with his personality.
He stayed so long signing autographs after preseason practices that Colts security had to drag him away. Last week, he showed up unannounced at a fan’s birthday party.
AR is still AR, for better and worse. The better is fame and fortune hasn’t gone to his head.
The worse is that every game is like a walk along a slippery cliff. And try as the Colts will, I don’t know what anyone can do about that.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Anthony Richardson can't outrun his injury history
