Colts Quarterback Anthony Richardson Suffers Another Embarrassing Setback

The once-promising career of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson may have just suffered its roughest setback on Sunday when he, get this, got hurt during team warmups.

Richardson is inactive for the 1 p.m. game against the Arizona Cardinals because he hurt one of his eyes while doing stretching exercises with a resistance band during warmups.

No, seriously.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 22: Quarterback Anthony Richardson #5 of the Indianapolis Colts reacts during the first half of the game against the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Richardson Now Third QB

Richardson, who has thrown only two passes this season in mop-up duty, was slated to be available as the team's backup quarterback on Sunday. But no. He's the emergency third quarterback behind starter Daniel Jones and backup (today) Riley Leonard.

And this is only the latest of a series of career setbacks — some embarrassing like this one — that have so far written the narrative of Richardson's career.

Going in reverse chronological order, the highlights (lowlights) or setbacks include Richardson losing the starting quarterback competition against Daniel Jones during training camp.

That, combined with Jones so far playing very well for the Colts, caused Richardson's "camp" to understand that the former first-round draft pick's future is probably not with Indianapolis.

(Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images)

Richardson Has Long Injury History

There have been meetings between the player and coaching staff and there has been at least one meeting between Richardson's representation and the personnel department about his status, per a source.

And then there have been other issues that have threatened to derail Richardson. Many of those have been injury-related.

• In the 2025 preseason opener, Richardson dislocated the pinkie finger on his throwing hand after taking a sack. The injury cut his preseason outing short.
• In 2024, he missed Weeks 5 and 6 due to an oblique injury. Later in the season, he missed the final two games with a back injury.
• In Week 5 of his rookie season, Richardson suffered a grade-3 AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, which ultimately ended his rookie year. He underwent shoulder surgery and was placed on injured reserve.
• Before that, Richardson had a concussion in Week 2 of the 2023 season and missed the next game.

Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson rushes for a TD vs. the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Texas. (Bob Levey/Getty Images) 

Colts See Problems With QB

Richardson hasn't just dealt with injuries, although those have led to other problems. 

Because he played limited time in college, Richardson came to the Colts as a project – yes, despite being a first-round pick.

And project players need experience and playing time to get better. So, the injuries have prevented him from that.

When Richardson did play, he wasn't exactly very good. He is a career 50.6 percent passer, which speaks to his lack of accuracy in a league where the top quarterbacks are completing 70 percent of their passes now.

And he's thrown 11 TD passes to 13 interceptions in a league where turnovers are a quick ticket to the bench.

All of that led the Colts to sign Daniel Jones this offseason.

Richardson Benched Last Two Seasons

The performance issues led to Richardson being benched last season. Prior to that benching, Richardson posted an NFL-worst 44.4% completion rate over six games.

We're not even going to get into the moment in 2024 when Richardson asked out of a game against the Houston Texans because he "needed a break."

All of this combined are the brush strokes to a portrait of a player whose expectations and ability have taken a back seat to durability and performance issues.

The saving grace?

Richardson is only 23. Maybe someone will continue to work with him and perhaps his bad injury luck will turn around.

Maybe. Perhaps.