Now that the Indianapolis Colts‘ quarterback battle has been settled and Daniel Jones will begin the season as the starter, it’s fair for one to wonder if head coach Shane Steichen has a role for Anthony Richardson.
Will he have packages for him? Will he use him in short yardage?
“We’ll see,” Steichen said on Thursday, via Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan. “I want to make sure he crushes his new role and takes it in stride, and does a hell of a job there. So, we’ll see.”
Crush his role as a backup quarterback? Obviously, Steichen wants everyone to succeed in their role with team and be the best they can be. But, you don’t usually hear backup quarterbacks being told to “crush” their role.
“Every year is different,” Steichen said. “Like I said, I want him to crush his new role, be a pro every day, come into the building, work, and we’ll see where it goes.”
Colts’ general manager doesn’t want to trade Anthony Richardson
The questions are coming quickly and furiously about what the Colts plan to do with Richardson. In addition to queries about Richardson’s usage on offense (heck, maybe defense too at this point. Find a job for him), are the questions about whether or not he’ll even be on the team.
General manager Chris Ballard was asked this week about potentially trading the former fourth-overall pick.
“We’re not trading him,” Ballard said.
“It’s easy to say, ‘OK, he’s done,’” Ballard continued. “I don’t agree. I’ve said this numerous times — I do not agree with that. I think overcoming challenges and obstacles along the way are good for anybody. I do. I’m proud of Anthony, of where he is at, how far he’s come. He’s come miles.”
Colts’ coaches and executives don’t seem too excited about Anthony Richardson anymore
Steichen seemed to have a ‘what do you want me to tell ya’?’ attitude towards Richardson. Whether or not he actually has a plan for him remains to be seen, but it’s not difficult to see him finding a way to utilize Richardson’s athleticism.
Quarterbacks’ coach Cam Turner didn’t exactly seem like he’s anxious to do much of anything with him. It sounds like they would like to wash their hands of him.
“As a position coach, you want to see your guys succeed and be successful, naturally,” Turner said. “I feel like I’ve tried everything I can do, and I feel like he’s given great effort in that aspect too. I don’t think either way it’s one or the other. I just think right now, the consistency is just not where we want it to be.”
I’ve tried everything! Classic.
Ballard, on the other hand, wants everyone to understand that Richardson will learn a lot by watching Jones. Seriously.
“There’s a lot of value in sitting behind a guy that’s a professional and watching and learning and growing and working on the things you need to work on without the same pressure of being the starter,” Ballard said.
“It is tough on any young quarterback in this league, but for him to keep taking the growth steps that he has and to work so hard and then not get the goal for himself. All right, now to continue to do that, that’s when we’ve got a chance to see real growth.”
It will be interesting to see how they use Richardson this year, even if that means he becomes the starter in Week 5 following a 1-3 start.
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