CBS gives another update on injured Anthony Richardson as Florida tries to keep pace with Tennessee

A tough afternoon for an injured Anthony Richardson continues on the road at No. 11 Tennessee. The quarterback for No. 20 Florida was already playing through a hamstring injury entering the game and he’s been hit hard several times during the game.

Richardson went into the injury tent in the second half after taking a hard hit and fumbling in the fourth quarter.

“Looked like Anthony Richardson got hurt during that fumble. He went into the injury tent for about five minutes,” CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell reported on the air. “He went into the injury tent for about five minutes. His left shoulder was definitely bandaged up when he came out. Now he came out to the sideline, he was stretching his neck out. Looks to be incredibly uncomfortable out there, but he spoke with Napier and he’s going to go back into the game. But Jalen Kitna was warming up on the sideline, guys.”

Tennessee edge defender Byron Young collared Richardson around the neck on the tackle in question as Richardson bent over and attempted to evade it. With defensive tackle Omari Thomas also applying pressure, Richardson twisted and was injured.

The Florida quarterback did return to the game, though, leading the Gators on the ensuing drive with a long completion to receiver Justin Shorter to enter Tennessee territory.

The Gators capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run by Montrell Johnson, cutting the Volunteers’ lead to 38-27 with 4:49 to play.

Florida’s options limited with injured Anthony Richardson

The Gators haven’t had a whole lot of options to replace the injured Anthony Richardson in the first few weeks of the season.

The projected backup entering 2022 was Ohio State transfer Jack Miller, but Miller suffered a thumb injury midway through fall camp that required surgery and has yet to make an appearance this season.

He was ruled out for Saturday’s contest, according to Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.

Kitna, the presumed backup for Richardson, is a redshirt freshman who has yet to see any game action in two years with the Gators. The emergency third-string option is walk-on Kyle Engel.

Regardless, the struggling Gators aren’t likely to get far without Richardson, an elite athlete who has battled through injury as best as possible early in the 2022 campaign.