Colts QB Anthony Richardson Played Pretty Well in the Preseason Opener
Ross Johnston evaluates the performance of Colts QB Anthony Richardson in their preseason opener against the Patriots.
Video Transcript
We knew going into the Colts preseason opener against the Patriots that Anthony Richardson would be the main storyline to watch for the team, given all the trade talk that has arisen over the past few weeks, the past month, and honestly, the stat line may be a little misleading with a pick and a fumble.
I thought Anthony Richardson played pretty well.
He at least played better than Riley Leonard in this game.
Now to start off with the interception, maybe the ball was a little bit behind on a throw on an out route to Coleman Owen, but Coleman Owen dropped it.
It went through his hands, it got picked off.
Stuff like that happens, but it's gonna show up in the box score as an interception and really is one that you can't blame Richardson on.
The fumble, on the other hand, probably was Anthony Richardson's fault.
I mean, really, it was Anthony Richardson's fault, just trying to get extra yardage, got the ball punched out.
Stuff like that happens as well, but that's one that you would put more of the blame on him for.
Honestly, though, on the night overall, Anthony Richardson was a pretty efficient eleven of fourteen through the air for a hundred and forty-five yards.
Had a screen to Ulysses Bentley that would have been a passing touchdown, ended up being reversed, called down at the one, which Richardson then ran it in for a rushing touchdown.
He led the Colts in rushing, by the way, with six carries for fifty-five yards.
And again, I thought he played pretty well.
Now, Riley Leonard, on the other hand, did not look so great.
Ten of twenty-one for eighty-nine yards and a pick, and he really just looked off all night.
The arm didn't look to be too great.
And look, I know this is the first game back for all of these guys, so I don't wanna get too much into it, but here is what I would like to propose to you.
Daniel Jones is c- all good to go.
They're keeping him out of the preseason, but coming off a torn Achilles, that is something that I would monitor.
And you never wanna predict injury.
You never want to put that out there.
But there is a chance Daniel Jones could get hurt again this year.
I mean, that could happen to any starting quarterback in the league, and that is the reason why the backup position is so important.
What I want to put out there is that maybe, just maybe, there is a world where Anthony Richardson stays on this team as the quarterback two and the backup to Daniel Jones.
Look, obviously, if he keeps playing well, that is good because even if the Colts plan to get rid of him, they are likely to find a trade partner with him playing well.
But again, if he continues to outperform Riley Leonard in the preseason, he might go into the season as the Colts quarterback too, because you need that solid backup piece there, and I wouldn't mind that either.
I know Colts fans are out on the Anthony Richardson experiment, and look, maybe he may never be a starting quarterback in the National Football League, but there's no problem in someone being a serviceable backup.
I know with his draft position, that's not what you want to hear.
But again, if things get tough in the season and Jones goes down, you need a dude back there who can keep the team going to a certain degree.
And I think Anthony Richardson, if he can stack these performances together, could be that guy, potentially.
We don't know.
Still got some preseason ball left, though.
We'll have to see how it plays out over the next two weeks.
