Indianapolis Colts name former Florida Gator Anthony Richardson starting QB for 2023
Indianapolis has named former Florida Gator Anthony Richardson, now an NFL rookie, as the starting quarterback for the 2023 season, Colts coach Shane Steichen announced Tuesday per multiple reports.
Wrote NFL.com: “Selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Richardson has impressed Steichen enough through one preseason game to earn the role. The 6-foot-4, 244-pound rookie is an intriguing prospect for a coach who helped formed Eagles QB Jalen Hurts into an MVP candidate last season.”
Richardson started in the Colts’ first preseason game last weekend. He was 7-for-12 passing for 67 yards with an interception with no scores.
“I thought he had great poise,” Steichen said after Richardson’s debut versus the Bills, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “I knew we had the early interception. That’s my fault. We’ve got to do a better job communicating on that one. … That starts with coaching, starts with myself. Other than that, I thought he was efficient.”
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky spoke about Richardson after his preseason debut on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ this Monday.
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“If I was going to give you two words that I would say to Anthony Richardson? Slow down,” Orlovsky said. “Like, you could see just, like, very energetic, almost antsy. I think that’s just the natural nerves.”
The Colts picked Richardson, a one-year starter for the Gators, No. 4 overall in the 2023 NFL draft. He started 13 games at Florida, but wowed NFL teams with his unique skillset.
In 2022, Richardson passed for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushied for 654 yards and nine scores.
Per Bleacher Report, “He arguably was the NFL Scouting Combine’s MVP. As Vic Tafur of The Athletic noted, Richardson ‘ran a 4.43 40-yard dash, set position records in the vertical and broad jumps and then effortlessly threw the ball 50 yards down the field Saturday.’
The 6’4″, 244-pound quarterback has a boatload of potential, and he’s also just 20 years old (21 on May 22). Ted Nguyen of The Athletic also called Richardson one of the best scheme fits in the entire draft alongside head coach Shane Steichen, who helped dual threat Jalen Hurts become one of the league’s most dominant superstars when he served as the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator.
It’s easy to envision Richardson becoming a perennial Pro Bowler in Indianapolis and finally ending the quarterback roulette that has taken place in town since Andrew Luck’s retirement in August 2019.“
