Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Anthony Richardson has gotten off to a rough start in his NFL career. After being drafted with the No. 4-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, he’s been either injured or incompetent.
It’s pretty well known that the wagons of head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard are firmly hitched to Richardson’s success. And recently, Ballard told The Athletic that he did make some mistakes in the University of Florida product’s development.
Specifically, Ballard says that he wished he “resisted the urge” to hand Richardson the starting job right away in 2023.
“He just doesn’t know yet,” Ballard said. “He didn’t have enough experience, both from a play standpoint but also a professional standpoint of how to get ready.”
Chris Ballard feels the pressure for Richardson to perform now
Richardson is still only 23-years old. He has plenty of time to develop, but Ballard might not be around to see it unless the young kid starts to show signs of life. Last year, while completing 47.7% of his passes and sporting an 8-12 touchdown-interception ratio, he also managed to walk off the field on his team.
If you don’t remember the incident against the Houston Texans, you can check that out right here:
This goes beyond injuries and missed reads, this is flat-out questionable leadership…or lack thereof. Will Ballard be able to overlook those kinds of antics and hope that the kid has some kind of epiphany?
“Do you have the courage to stay the path when things aren’t going right and believe that we’re gonna come out of this thing on the other end in a good way?” Ballard said. “If it doesn’t work, it might get my ass fired, but I’m willing to live with that because it’s the right thing to do.
“When you take one high, there’s an expectation,” Ballard said. “The pressure to play the kid is real.”
Public sentiment seems to be leaning towards starting Richardson at QB
The word is that Daniel Jones isn’t off to a great start at training camp. Richardson has also strung together a few decent practices. Of course, Richardson has the upside while Jones is the “safe” pick (and by “safe” I mean in a county-fair-amusement-ride kind of way. It will probably be okay, but you never know). At this point, we know what Jones is, but more pundits are starting to clamor for Richardson.
ESPN’s Field Yates thinks Richardson should probably get the call first.
“I think the Colts are stuck in the middle if they start Daniel Jones,” Yates said on “NFL Live” on Tuesday. “Daniel Jones has one stellar season in his NFL career (2022), otherwise we know what he is, which is probably a replacement-level quarterback. Anthony Richardson has had two mediocre-albeit-injury-impacted seasons in his NFL career. There’s still a chance — a flicker of hope — that Anthony Richardson still could become a promising young quarterback.”
That isn’t a ringing endorsement, but he’s right, Jones is what he is. Yates says that Ballard and the Colts really are “going down with the ship.”
“The Colts owe it to not just Anthony, but to themselves as an organization, to exhaust every resource in figuring out if they have something or nothing,” Yates continued. “I don’t know if the chances at this point are strong or weak. Probably weaker more than they are stronger, but this is a player who they invested too much in to constantly use a short leash on Anthony Richardson. You’re in, or you’re out. You’re going down with the ship, or you’re not. So, to me, the Colts need to play Anthony Richardson to give themselves a credible snapshot of what this player can become during his NFL career.”
For what it’s worth, Ballard still believes in his young quarterback, which means the Colts are likely to stick with him even if Jones is the safer option.
“I just think eventually Anthony’s going to be who we think he can be,” Ballard concluded. “I still believe that. Whether that’s this year or next, I don’t know when it’s going to happen.”
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