Anthony Richardson injury update: Colts reveal QB’s status for Sunday vs. Jaguars

Anthony Richardson has been ruled out for Sunday’s regular-season finale for the Indianapolis Colts due to his back injury, and veteran Joe Flacco will start against the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

“Colts ruled out QB Anthony Richardson for Sunday’s regular-season finale vs. the Jaguars due to his back injury,” Schefter reported, via X. “One final start this season for Colts QB Joe Flacco.”

The sophomore quarterback said earlier in the week the disk issue in his lower back left him unable to stand and “crawling around the house” over the time he’s been inactive. Evidently, it hasn’t healed enough to allow him to start the final game of the 2024 campaign.

“Just dealing with my back, just lower back stuff,” Richardson said, via Brett Bensley of FOX59 News. “Last week was tough, I couldn’t even stand up on Tuesday, could barely even walk and was crawling around the house. But I’m here and I’m standing now. If I could do everything in my power to get on the field, I’m going to do so. That was my mindset last week as well, but I could barely move.”

Richardson was sidelined for this past Sunday’s game against the New York Giants (3-13), a 45-33 defeat. Head coach Shane Steichen initially said Richardson was dealing with soreness after the Week 16 win over the Tennessee Titans (3-13), but didn’t offer any specifics. Steichen then revealed after the loss to New York the injury to be back spasms. 

“I like to keep a lot of things in-house, you know what I mean?” Steichen said, regarding the ailment. “That’s part of it.” 

Alas, Steichen and the Colts were hopeful that Richardson could suit up in this Sunday’s season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but it’ll be Flacco called upon once again.

Injuries have been a major part of Richardson’s brief NFL career. The 2023 fourth overall pick missed 13 games in his rookie campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery to repair an AC joint sprain. He missed Weeks 5 and 6 this season with an oblique injury, only to return in Week 7. Steichen benched him in favor of Flacco due to poor performance after Week 8 but went back to Richardson in Week 11.

One storyline lost in Anthony Richardson’s subpar sophomore season is that Joe Flacco’s final game could come on Sunday. At 39 years old, nothing is guaranteed, but he’ll have at least one more shot at starting for the Colts.

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this article.