Small Sample Size Shows Richardson Still Work-In-Progress

Source: Todd Rosenberg / Getty

Anthony Richardson made his long-awaited return to the field on Sunday, when he started the Colts first preseason game against the Denver Broncos.

After 308 days, fans were naturally excited to see their franchise quarterback back under center. Richardson flashed tons of potential in his injury shortened rookie season, and everyone hoped to see more of those flashes once he returned.

Instead, in the two drives Richardson led, he went 2-of-4 for 25 passing yards, with the Colts offense picking up 1 first down and punting both times.

Richardson’s accuracy, an issue for him coming out of college, was not dialed in, as he threw a pass that should have been intercepted, and then later threw behind Kylen Granson on 3 rd down, forcing the tight end to slow down and ultimately leading to him being tackled short of the sticks.

There’s always a danger in trusting what you see in the preseason too much. The Colts were obviously running a vanilla scheme; at no point were Richardson’s legs ever in play, and they likely won’t be until the real games start. The Colts don’t want to tip their hand into how they plan on utilizing the one-two punch of Richardson and Jonathan Taylor, and they don’t want to expose either of them to any unneeded punishment.

Truthfully, it was just nice to see Richardson back out there, get him some live reps, and see him leave healthy. The ball looked like it came out of his hand with the same velocity as it did before he got injured, and he was smart with protecting himself.

Let’s also not forget that for Richardson, this is essentially Rookie Year Part 2. It isn’t fair to expect him to come out of the gate looking like one of the top quarterbacks in the league. His inexperience was one of the big concerns about him coming out of college, and it’s a concern that remains one year in. The only solution for that is for him to play and take the good with the bad.

Richardson is still a work-in-progress. Yes, it would have been nice to see him light up the Broncos defense in his two drives, and we’ll need to see more than just flashes going forward, but for now, him just being healthy and back in the lineup is good enough.

During the Monday edition of The Ride With JMV, John spoke to Stephen Holder of ESPN about Richardson’s return to the field. Listen to that conversation and more down below, and tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!

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