Colts' Anthony Richardson: I Have to Be 'Smarter' After Dealing With Injuries in 2023

After his rookie season was cut short due to injury, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson acknowledged Thursday that he may need to pick his spots better in 2024.

According to James Boyd of The Athletic, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft said: "I don't think I played reckless. I think I played the right way. It was unfortunate I got injured, but I can't really change the way I play. I just gotta be a little smarter when the time does come."

Richardson largely impressed in his four starts this season, but he was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign in October and underwent shoulder surgery.

Richardson admitted that he would be wise to minimize hits when possible next season, but he still intends on embracing his dual-threat nature: "I can't try to run through everybody. If it's first and 10, [I need to] get what I can get and get down. Get out of bounds. Get to the sidelines. But if the game is on the line, I've got to go out there and compete. It's just a matter of being smart for myself and the team."

After winning the starting job out of training camp, Richardson went 2-2 in four starts during his rookie campaign, completing 59.5 percent of his passes for 577 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while also rushing for 136 yards and four scores.

The selection of Richardson was somewhat controversial since he had limited starting experience in college at Florida and struggled with accuracy, but early returns suggest he has star potential at the NFL level.

Head coach Shane Steichen undoubtedly would have loved to get a longer look at Richardson this season, but there are still plenty of positives to take away from 2023.

With veteran journeyman Gardner Minshew starting 13 games at quarterback, Indy still managed a 9-8 record, which was far better than anyone expected.

The Colts went 4-12-1 last season, but they made enough improvements to better their record by five wins, and they narrowly missed out on the playoffs.

In Week 18, the Colts had a win-and-in game against the Houston Texans, which they lost by a 23-19 score, leaving them just short of their first playoff berth since 2020.

Per NFL.com's Eric Edholm, Richardson made it clear that reaching the playoffs in his second season is a top priority, saying:

"I'm going to compete every chance that I get, and we don't want anything short of the playoffs. We want to exceed the playoffs and go to the Super Bowl—that's the main [goal]— go get rings here and win championships.

"I do believe if I did play, we go to the playoffs, but even when I didn't play, we had opportunities to go to the playoffs. This team, despite me—just leave me out of it—this team is great. We have weapons, as you can see. Playoffs [are] right there in our hands, we just have to execute every play."

The Colts showed what they could do with roughly league-average quarterback play in 2023, which suggests their potential is far higher with Richardson in the lineup next season.

Of course, Richardson still has plenty to prove and isn't guaranteed to be an NFL star, but he does seem to have his sights set on on improvement for himself and the team in 2024 and beyond.