Colts' Anthony Richardson Flashed 'Next-Level Stuff,' Split QB1 Reps at OTAs

The Indianapolis Colts aren't wasting much time getting rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson acclimated with the starting unit.

Head coach Shane Steichen told reporters Thursday that the 2023 first-round pick split first-team reps with Gardner Minshew at OTAs.

"Anthony's getting some reps with the 1's, Gardner's getting some reps with the 1's, and we'll see how it plays out," he said.

Steichen added that Richardson "made some big plays today" and did "some next-level stuff."

Leading up to the draft, many were of the opinion that the former Florida star would need a year of seasoning, or at least a few months on the bench, before he was ready to run an NFL offense.

In his only full season as a starter in college, Richardson threw for 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions and completed 53.8 percent of his passes in 2022. The potential was clearly there, yet he looked like a work in progress.

Shortly after the draft, Colts owner Jim Irsay didn't sound like somebody who expected to see Richardson on the sidelines too much, per ESPN's Stephen Holder:

"You get better by playing. I mean, practice and preseason games and watching in a quarterback room, that's great. But, man, I'll tell you, he'd get better by playing, and it's something that it is really important. Because, again, his development [is] so much of a key to the franchise's future. It is the critical key."

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported on May 6 that Indianapolis had "gotten to work with [Richardson] in a hurry, trying to get that install going because the pleasantries are over." According to Fowler, multiple teams have come to believe Richardson could be the Colts' Week 1 starter.

The cat could be out of the bag by the preseason. If Richardson is getting more first-team reps than Minshew in a few months, it might be a telltale sign as to how Steichen views the quarterback hierarchy.