By John Rigolizzo
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said on Thursday that quarterback Anthony Richardson experienced pain in his throwing shoulder during an OTA practice last week.
He was diagnosed with an aggravation from a previous injury and will miss the remainder of the offseason program, Steichen said. It is the latest setback for Richardson, who has played just 15 games in two NFL seasons.
“Doctors, trainers checked it out,” Steichen said. “He’s got some aggravation in his AC joint. So we’re gonna sit him out this week. Obviously, he‘ll sit out for minicamp. We’ll see when he comes back. Not going put a timetable for training camp on it, but when he does come back, we‘ll ease him into throwing, and then we’ll go from there. The good thing is he’s not gonna need a procedure right now.”
Richardson suffered a grade 3 AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder in Week 5 of the 2023 season. He was initially expected to miss a month or two but eventually had to undergo season-ending surgery.
Steichen attributed the injury to the stress of throwing during the offseason. Richardson will spend his time rehabbing and will return sometime during training camp, Steichen said.
“Obviously, it’s frustrating, but he is in good spirits. So we’re working through it right now,” Steichen said.
He said that before the injury, Richardson was doing well in his preparation for the season.
In April, Richardson said that this was the first offseason in which he had a proper opportunity to work on his fundamentals as a quarterback. He spent his rookie offseason getting acclimated to the NFL; he spent the 2024 offseason recovering from the shoulder operation.
Richardson said he spent this offseason running, throwing, and studying the playbook. Mechanically, he spent time working on his footwork and remaining calm in the pocket. He noted that most quarterbacks already have the arm strength and upper body technique to make most of the throws, so he is trying to build his footwork and base so he can let his arm do the rest.
“That was one of the main things I wanted to focus on, because everybody knows I can throw the ball whenever I’m smooth, but I want to find opportunities for myself to be consistent when I am off-balance and make decent throws,” Richardson said at the time. “And even when everything is perfect, making sure my feet are intact and my width and my base are solid and I’m just completing a pass.”
Richardson also dealt with a back injury late last season. The pain was so bad that he could not walk around his house. An MRI revealed that he was suffering from a disc injury that he had for years. The injury is chronic, but not enough to require surgery.
Without Richardson, the first-team reps will go to Daniel Jones for the rest of the offseason program. The Colts signed Jones in March to compete with Richardson for the starting job. The Colts also have 2025 sixth-round pick Riley Leonard and 2024 undrafted free agent signee Jason Bean on the roster. Steichen said on Thursday that the team would not bring in a free-agent quarterback.
Steichen also praised Jones for how he has handled the offseason program so far.
“He’s done a really nice job for us, obviously acclimating to the offense, learning the system,” Steichen said. “Obviously a smart guy, understands it. He’s picked it up real nice, and he’s done some good things so far. He’s been a fast learner, I think. He’s a veteran guy that comes in and works early, late nights, does all the right things, so it’s been good.”
