Anthony Richardson 'trending in the right direction' following season-ending injury

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is doing well after missing most of last year with a shoulder injury.

The Colts are still being somewhat cautious with the former Florida star, but he is basically back to 100 percent, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

“I’m told for the better part of the last six weeks, he’s been a full-go coming off that shoulder surgery,” Fowler said on SportsCenter Saturday morning. “He’s felt good. He started with 10 to 20 [yard] throws earlier this offseason, then ramped it up and now he can rip those 50 and 60 yarders.”

Richardson appeared in four games last season before being lost for the year with a shoulder injury. He threw for 577 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 136 yards and four scores, prior to going down.

Anthony Richardson is still feeling a little bit of soreness when he throws, according to Fowler, but overall he is in a good spot.

“It’s just a matter of managing a little bit of soreness when he does throw, so the Colts will be cautious with him in 11-man work and OTAs but, he is trending in the right direction,” Fowler said.

The Colts selected Richardson in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the No. 4 overall pick. Richardson had an up-and-down career at Florida, but he displayed elite athleticism, which made him attractive to some teams in the draft.

His selection was viewed as a risk when he was taken by the Colts due to his inconsistency, but Richardson was off to a strong start last season as a rookie prior to the injury.

Anthony Richardson addresses if he’ll change his play style after rookie season injury

Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is back on the practice field, leading his team during OTAs. Although he missed much of last season because of shoulder surgery, he has no plans to change his game.

Richardson says he’ll be the same dual-threat quarterback who will use every athletic skill available in his repertoire. He’s as large as most linebackers, so why not lower a shoulder for some extra yards? Surely what happened at home last October against the Titans won’t repeat itself again.

“I don’t think there’s any way I could have avoided what happened to me,” Richardson told reporters during a media availability. “Just a regular, routine tackle. I tried to brace myself for the fall and just my shoulder did what it did. There’s nothing I could do about that.”