The Indianapolis Colts have announced that rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson will be the team’s starting quarterback moving forward.
Richardson was drafted with the No. 4 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he was viewed as a raw prospect who may need time on the bench to develop more before stepping into NFL action. As a result, the team signed Gardner Minshew this offseason to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Minshew signed with the Colts with the hopes that he’d be able to start some games and restore his value.
However, Richardson has shown enough in training camp and preseason thus far to beat out Minshew for the starting job. The University of Florida product has all the physical traits you could possibly want in a franchise quarterback. At 6-foot-4, he recorded a 4.43 40-yard dash time and a 40.5-inch vertical jump. His 10 out of 10 Relative Athletic Score is the highest rating of all time among quarterback prospects.
The Colts enter the year with a rookie quarterback under center being coached by rookie NFL head coach, Shane Steichen. Steichen was the offensive coordinator of the reigning NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles, where he got to work closely with another unique dual-threat quarterback named Jalen Hurts.
Under Steichen’s tutelage, Hurts ascended to become one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, finishing second behind Patrick Mahomes in the MVP race before eventually losing to him and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Steichen’s experience with Hurts should only benefit Richardson and the Colts as they prepare for a new era in Indianapolis.
