Indianapolis Colts name rookie Anthony Richardson as starting quarterback for 2023 season

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced that first-round draft pick Anthony Richardson will be the team’s starting quarterback this season. The former Florida Gator had the opportunity to start in the Colts first preseason game over the weekend, going 7-for-12 for 67 yards and an interception with no scores.

Richardson is one of three quarterbacks on the roster for Colts training camp along with Gardner Minshew and Sam Ehlinger. Minshew, who is entering his fifth NFL season, also shared first-team reps during practices but it appears that Steichen is ready to hand the keys to the rookie.

“I thought he had great poise,” Steichen said after Richardson’s debut versus the Bills, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “I knew we had the early interception. That’s my fault. We’ve got to do a better job communicating on that one. … That starts with coaching, starts with myself. Other than that, I thought he was efficient.”

Richardson was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Florida but was viewed as a longer-term project compared to top-two picks Bryce Young and CJ Stroud.

Richardson signed his rookie deal last month, which is a four-year, $33.99 million guaranteed deal. He also earned a $21.72-million signing bonus.

Richardson had only one year of starting experience in college with the Gators. He made 12 starts in 2022 with a 6-6 record, throwing for 2,549 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and nine picks on a 54% completion percentage.

He also added 654 rushing yards and nine more scores on the ground.

Richardson ahead of schedule

ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky had a very clear message for Richardson after his debut on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Monday. If nothing else, he believes Richardson needs to slow down and relax in order to not let his energy, whether nervous or not, affect his play.

“If I was going to give you two words that I would say to Anthony Richardson? Slow down,” said Orlovsky. “Like, you could see just, like, very energetic, almost antsy. I think that’s just the natural nerves.”

When it comes to the interception, Orlovsky was more than willing to excuse it.

“I think the interception was a completely blown play by everybody. He’ll learn from it,” said Orlovsky. “I think that’s a blown play by multiple people on their offense, not just him. I think he’s trying to throw the football away. He’ll probably learn from that.”

The Indianapolis Colts continue preseason play with a game on Saturday versus the Chicago Bears. After that, they’ll face Super Bowl contenders in the Philadelphia Eagles. It will be a key tuneup opportunity before the season starts and the team makes final cuts. Indianapolis begins the 2023 season with a home opener versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.