Indianapolis Colts work out four free agent quarterbacks amid Anthony Richardson injury
The Indianapolis Colts lost starting quarterback Anthony Richardson on Sunday to an AC Joint sprain. Head coach Shane Steichen would only say that the rookie will miss “some time” due to the shoulder injury but on Tuesday, the team lined up workouts with free-agent quarterbacks, indicating it could be several weeks before the former Gator is ready to play again.
The Colts brought in former Texas A&M standout Kellen Mond, former Oregon QB Anthony Brown, Penn State alum Trace McSorley and ECU’s Holton Ahlers on Tuesday for workouts. One of the four quarterbacks could fill in as a third-string to Richardson’s backups Gardner Minshew and Sam Ehlinger.
The Cleveland Browns have opted to waive Mond ahead of their final preseason game, nearly one year after picking him up off of waivers from the Minnesota Vikings.
McSorley, a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, began his career with the Baltimore Ravens. He’s played in nine career regular-season games so far for both the Ravens and Arizona Cardinals. With the Patriots this offseason, he got the axe before the 53-man roster deadline.
Anthony Brown was with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason but got cut at the end of August for the final roster deadline.
Ahlers has been with the Seattle Seahawks recently, signing a deal for their practice squad at the beginning of September. However, they cut him less than two weeks later.
Richardson expected out 4-6 weeks
Anthony Richardson underwent further testing on Monday to confirm the severity of his injury, an AC joint sprain, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. Now, the team is planning to play their Week 6 game against the Jaguars without Richardson.
“Sources tell me that the initial diagnosis was a Grade 3 AC Joint sprain… If the tests confirm what the initial diagnosis was, you’re looking at a month or longer for Anthony Richardson,” Rapoport said on Good Morning Football on Monday. “It brings Injured Reserve into play for the standout rookie for the Colts and it makes Gardner Minshew gonna be the starter moving forward. I expect him to start this week against the Jaguars at the very least.”
Steichen also noted that the team is still evaluating whether to place Richardson on the injured reserve. IR would mean a mandatory four weeks off the field.
The Colts led the Titans 10-6 before the QB’s injury. Richardson began the game 9-of-12 passing for 98 yards before exiting. He also took one sack for a loss of 17 yards.
The Colts ended up defeating the Titans 23-16 with Gardner Minshew filling in for the rookie. Minshew finished the game going 11-for-14 for 155 yards. Running back Zack Moss led all scorers with two touchdowns.
Colts dealing with injuries early
Richardson has missed time already this year in concussion protocol, as he was sidelined for Week 3’s overtime victory against the Baltimore Ravens. He returned the following week to lead the Colts to another overtime matchup, this time in a losing effort against the Los Angeles Rams.
Indianapolis selected Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. This year, he’s completed 56.9% of his passes for 479 yards, while tossing in three touchdowns and one interception. As a runner, he has 23 carries for 131 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
With the win over the Titans in the books, the Colts push forward into Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars won two games in London and return to TIAA Bank with a 3-2 record. Indianapolis began the season with a 31-21 loss to Jacksonville.