Indianapolis Colts quarterback and former number-four overall pick Anthony Richardson will be sidelined for the remainder of minicamp due to a shoulder injury, head coach Shane Steichen told reporters earlier today. Richardson suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder last week, Steichen added.
“Doctors, trainers checked it out,” said the Colts’ head coach. “He’s got some aggravation in his AC joint. So we’re gonna sit him out this week. Obviously, he’ll sit out for minicamp. We’ll see when he comes back. Not gonna put a timetable for training camp on it, but when he does come back, we’ll ease him into throwing, and then we’ll go from there. The good thing is he’s not gonna need a procedure right now.”
This is not the first time in Richardson’s young career that he has dealt with shoulder issues. His rookie season was cut short by a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery.
Per Shane Steichen – QB Anthony Richardson is dealing with a shoulder injury and will not participate in mini-camp next week. pic.twitter.com/obF7ggLAvk
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) June 5, 2025
“Obviously, it’s frustrating, but he is in good spirits,” Steichen said. “So we’re working through it right now.”
Injuries continue to be a problem for Anthony Richardson, who has only started 15 games in his first two seasons in the NFL. In 11 starts last year, he threw for 1,814 yards, eight touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while rushing for another 499 yards and six touchdowns.
Interesting timing for Richardson and the Colts
I am not accusing Anthony Richardson of faking an injury. I genuinely believe he hurt his throwing shoulder and needs to take time to recuperate in order to return to full health. However, the timing of this injury, a week before mandatory minicamp, is fascinating to say the least.
There were already questions about Anthony Richardson and his ability to develop into a full-fledged starting quarterback in the National Football League. Those questions led to the team signing free agent quarterback and former New York Giant Daniel Jones this off-season to a one-year, $14 million contract. Jones was undoubtedly being brought in to compete for the team’s starting quarterback spot, but with Richardson scheduled to miss the next week, Jones will be taking pretty much all of the first-team reps.
While that would usually be seen as a negative for Richardson, it actually works in his favor. If he had been forced to participate in minicamp, then there’s a chance he could’ve been outplayed by Daniel Jones and lost the starting job to the former number-six overall pick. Now that Indy’s leadership can’t get a look at Richardson, the Colts will have to wait until training camp begins in July to see how he performs and if he’s still worthy of being the team’s starter.
#Colts HC Shane Steichen says he hopes QB Anthony Richardson can come back “at some point” during training camp. No timeline.
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) June 5, 2025
Anthony Richardson should still be looked at as the long-term answer at the quarterback position in Indianapolis. His draft position and age (23) warrant him getting a shot to still be the starter when Week One rolls around. With that being said, he has been terrible in the limited action he has seen, which would explain why the Colts brought in Daniel Jones to compete for the starting job.
I still believe that the Colts will name Anthony Richardson as the starter to open the season. However, I think he will eventually be replaced by Daniel Jones sometime during the regular season, whether it’s due to injury or poor performance. At least while Richardson is dealing with this injury, there’s almost no chance that he loses the starting job to Daniel Jones because there’s still some hope that he can develop into a serviceable starter.
