Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson will have shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season, the team announced Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Colts coach Shane Steichen said the team spoke to multiple doctors and determined that season-ending surgery is “the best thing for” Richardson.
- Richardson hasn’t played since injuring his right shoulder in Week 5 and was later diagnosed with a Grade 3 AC joint sprain and placed on injured reserve.
- Colts owner Jim Irsay told The Athletic on Monday that Richardson was “probably” going to have season-ending surgery.
- Veteran backup Gardner Minshew will be the starting QB for the rest of the season. “This is Gardner’s team,” Steichen said. “We got a ton of confidence in Gardner and his abilities moving forward in this offense.”
Colts want to avoid repeat of Luck situation
The Colts went through this before with Andrew Luck’s shoulder. They won’t make the same mistake with Richardson.
“That’s a huge part of (the decision),” Steichen said regarding Richardson’s season-ending shoulder surgery. “You take a guy fourth overall (in the draft) – a tremendous competitor, great player — the longevity of him needs to be at a premium.”
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Luck sustained a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in Week 3 in 2015 and put off surgery in favor of rehab so that he could return and play that season. He postponed surgery again during the 2016 offseason, but in hindsight, it wasn’t worth it. Luck played in 15 of 16 games and threw 31 TDs against 13 interceptions during the 2016 season, though it consisted of him being in constant pain before finally undergoing surgery in 2017 and missing the entire 2017 season.
If Luck had undergone surgery when his partially torn labrum initially happened, perhaps the four-time Pro Bowler would’ve stuck around longer before he shockingly retired in 2019. Luck cited a constant cycle of injury and rehab as one of the main reasons that pushed him away from the game. The Colts aren’t going down that road again if they can help it.
Of course, Richardson, 21, isn’t weighing retirement. He and the team are weighing his future, which still looks bright despite an abbreviated first season. Richardson’s three-touchdown performance against the Rams is one Minshew believes could serve as a preview of a promising career. After falling behind 23-0, the rookie spearheaded a second-half comeback to force overtime before the Rams scored a game-winning, walk-off touchdown.
“We couldn’t get anything going,” Minshew said. “Whatever it was on offense, it just wasn’t working. But the resiliency to keep going, to keep pushing, to keep fighting through that, really gave us a chance there at the end. You always have that hope of the switch that he can flip it around.” — James Boyd, Colts staff writer
GO DEEPER
Colts' Anthony Richardson to undergo AC joint surgery; a doctor explains operation, recovery
Face of the franchise
Richardson’s injuries limited him from really coming into his own, even before the announcement that he’d have season-ending shoulder surgery. The rookie was sidelined in the fourth quarter of the season opener after taking a hit to his left knee. He sustained a concussion in Week 2 that took him out of that game and sidelined him for Week 3. Richardson returned for a historic performance in Week 4 against the Rams, becoming the youngest player in the Super Bowl era with multiple passing TDs and a rushing TD in the same game, according to NFL Research. However, the grade 3 AC joint sprain he sustained in Week 5 spelled the end of his rookie season.
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Despite playing just 173 offensive snaps in four games, Richardson still scored seven total TDs (three passing and four rushing). Steichen believes Richardson proved he has the potential to be a franchise quarterback, which the Colts have been desperately searching for since Luck retired in 2019.
“When he played, he was explosive and he was electric,” Steichen said of Richardson. “He gives us an opportunity, every time he steps on the field, to win football games. Just his big-play ability, throwing the ball down the field, the runs that he had.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for him going forward with this franchise.”
Different offense
The Colts’ offense will look much different in Richardson’s absence. The rookie ranked seventh in the NFL with a 9.3 percent explosive play rate (runs of 12-plus yards and throws of 16-plus yards) among the 33 QBs with at least 150 offensive snaps played this season. Minshew, who has played 248 offensive snaps this year, ranks 31st at 5.0 percent. In all, Richardson has produced 15 explosive plays (11 passes and four runs) compared to eight explosive plays (eight passes and zero runs) for Minshew.
The Jaguars responded to Minshew’s inability to generate big plays by loading up against All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss and daring Minshew to beat them. In Week 6, the Colts faced eight men in the box on 47.1 percent of their runs, which was by far their highest mark this season. The obvious counter to those types of defensive looks is for a QB to make a few downfield throws to keep the defense honest. Minshew couldn’t do that, instead throwing three interceptions for the first time in his career.
“Either you run it or you throw it well, one of the two,” Minshew said when asked how Indianapolis can better respond to heavy boxes in the future. “Just kind of figuring that out will be a good challenge for us moving forward.”
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Challenge might be an understatement considering Minshew and Co. will face a Cleveland Browns defense Sunday that has given up 1,002 yards through five games. According to NFL on CBS, that’s the fewest any team in the NFL has allowed in five games over the last 50 years. — Boyd
What they’re saying
Steichen was asked if he’d consider changing how Richardson is utilized in the offense to better protect him in the future. All three of Richardson’s injuries (the knee bruise in Week 1, the concussion in Week 2 and the AC joint sprain in Week 3) were on runs outside of the pocket.
“We’ll cross that bridge next year when we get there,” Steichen said. “But again, one of the things that makes him really good is (being) a runner. A lot of those guys around the league that run and make plays, that’s what helps your offense.”
Center Ryan Kelly: “(Richardson) got a little taste of what he can do and the momentum he was building up through the year (was encouraging). Certainly, it sucks. I know for him, just early in your career to have an injury like that, it can be kind of lonely. But I know the guys in there and the rest of the team will rally around him.”
Added linebacker Zaire Franklin: “He shows you in every chance he (gets) the type of man he is, the type of teammate and the person in the community he wants to be. Will this define (him) or anything like that? No, no way.”
Required reading
(Photo by Mike Carlson / Getty Images)