Anthony Richardson's 'confidence is coming back' after lost rookie year

INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Pittman Jr. saw something In Anthony Richardson’s eyes when the Colts returned to the team facility this week for the start of offseason workouts.

A look that temporarily left after Richardson underwent season-ending surgery to repair the AC joint in his throwing shoulder last year.

Richardson might still be rehabilitating that right shoulder but there has been a shift in the young quarterback that should give the rest of the Colts plenty to be excited.

“His confidence is coming back,” Pittman said. “I can see it in his eyes.”

Richardson has always carried himself with an innate sense of confidence, a belief in himself that is both understated and impossible to deny.

When a player’s rookie season is cut short by surgery, though, there are going to be some tough moments. While the rest of his team was fighting and scratching for a playoff spot, Richardson was in the early throes of recovery.

He had to watch from the sidelines while the Colts ran through a schedule that included the rest of Richardson’s draft class.

“Obviously, he got hurt and had to watch all the other young QBs, like C.J. (Stroud) and Bryce (Young) and Will (Levis) play,” Pittman said. “He’s ready for people to start talking about him, too.”

The level of work Richardson’s shoulder can handle right now remains a little unclear.

But the early returns are incredibly positive.

“Had really good discussions that I’ll obviously keep private, but he’s in a really good spot,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “His shoulder is feeling good. He should be good to go for practices. … He will be out there throwing, but we’ll limit (him), we’ll obviously monitor it, make sure we’re smart with that, but he’s in a really good place.”

Being ready to throw is an important development for a young quarterback who has his first chance to go through the full offseason. Richardson was healthy for offseason workouts last season, but he obviously did not join the Colts until two weeks after the draft, and at that time, it was all new to him.

Very little will be unfamiliar for Richardson this spring.

“It’s not new for him,” Steichen said. “He’s heard the terminology. Going through those meetings right now, going through it, quizzing him, and he’s all over it. We’ve got a good foundation going into this offseason.”

The Colts liked what they saw in Richardson’s brief time playing at the start of the season, liked it enough that Indianapolis is quietly optimistic about the ways the young quarterback can improve an offense that was steady but rarely explosive after Richardson’s injury last year.

Not only does Indianapolis have a healthy Richardson, but the Colts have a healthy, happy Jonathan Taylor, and the combination of those two dynamic weapons have Steichen and the rest of the Colts salivating.

“I think we could have the best RPO game in the whole NFL,” Pittman said. “We went to the RPO a lot last year, and just adding in Anthony’s legs can add in a whole another aspect. You can’t really load up that box, because he can pull it and throw. You can’t put most of the defense towards JT, because (Richardson) might pull it, too. It kind of just opens everybody up.”

Pittman likes the possibilities Richardson creates in the passing game, too.

Not only would a healthy Richardson have the arm strength to push the ball down the field, a rarity for backup Gardner Minshew last season, but Richardson’s mobility will open up opportunities for the receivers downfield by buying them time to improvise.

Indianapolis was talking about all of these possibilities after Richardson was drafted last season.

But it’s a little different this year.

The Colts have seen Richardson in action, know what he can do when he’s on the field.

“AR is going to play all 17 games,” Pittman said. “I’m going to put that there, and then more (games), because we’re going to keep going.”

Richardson won’t have any problems getting people’s attention if that happens.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Anthony Richardson's 'confidence is coming back' after lost rookie year