Colts' Anthony Richardson discusses improving after rough rookie season

NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mentioned on Sunday how Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson has made "significant" progress regarding "communication and command at the line" from where Richardson was as a rookie last August.

Richardson recently expanded on how much he's grown after he suffered a campaign-ending shoulder injury in just his fourth career regular-season start.

"The communication is definitely, has advanced for us," Richardson explained, per Michael Marot of The Associated Press. "Last year was more so, 'OK, follow the read, do this.' Now it’s like, 'OK if the defense does this, now I want you to think about this right here.' Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s just trying to find ways to tweak our offense and get comfortable with each other. But I definitely feel like there’s been a huge jump from last year to this year."

Richardson recorded just 13 college starts while with the Florida Gators and then finished only two of his four Indianapolis starts. The fourth overall pick of the 2023 draft suffered a concussion in Week 2 last September before he went down with his shoulder issue in early October.

Head coach Shane Steichen is hoping that Richardson spending the bulk of his rookie season as a spectator will prove to be a blessing in disguise for everyone involved.

"He had that opportunity to sit back and watch," Steichen said. "Throughout the season, you have extra meetings with him on the side and just going through football stuff, football knowledge, just keep getting that memory bank full of different looks and things we’re going to run in the season."

While Richardson having a better understanding of the offense could help him stay healthy, it remains to be seen how he'll embrace sliding in order to avoid the type of hits that sidelined him for most of his first pro season.

"It’s definitely easier to manage our offense now," Richardson added. "I’m a lot more comfortable, a lot more comfortable with the call Shane is calling in. It has been good so far — making plays with the offense, diving deeper into the offense and learning a lot more, and then just trying to take advantage of the defense."

Steichen likely won't put Richardson in too much danger during Indianapolis' preseason that begins with a game against the Denver Broncos this coming Sunday. The 22-year-old will face a difficult test in Week 1 when the Colts host the reigning division-champion Houston Texans on Sept. 8.