Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. will not be available for the team’s regular-season finale Sunday against the Houston Texans, remaining on injured reserve due to an orbital fracture, Colts coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday.
Richardson returned to practice Dec. 18, and Wednesday’s walkthrough marked the first time he was listed as a full participant. However, he is still managing “vision limitations” in his right eye that stem from his injury, according to Steichen.
Steichen said he and Richardson had a long conversation in his office on Tuesday regarding the decision to keep the dual-threat QB inactive. Richardson appeared in just two games this season, completing one of his two passes (surprisingly to himself) for 9 yards.
“If you don’t have a perfect eyesight there, and something happens (and) you don’t see someone and you get hit, I mean, that’s not a good thing,” Steichen said. “So, we just want to be smart with it.”
Richardson suffered an orbital fracture during what Steichen called a “freak accident” in pregame warmups in Week 6. The quarterback was using a band to stretch. However, when he attached the band to a rod in a locker and pulled it, the rod broke and a piece of the rod recoiled with the band, smashing into Richardson’s face at a high rate of speed, league sources told The Athletic. Richardson was taken to a local hospital and discharged later that day. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve and underwent surgery on Oct. 20 to fix his fractured orbital bone.
Richardson initially said he didn’t have any “major limitations” with his vision when he returned to practice a few weeks ago. He reemphasized that point Wednesday while offering more details.
“Everything downfield, not gonna be a problem,” Richardson said. “(It’s) more so within the foot radius of my (vision) box that’s more so the toughest part (in my) daily life, but that’s about it.”
Although he’ll end up missing the final 11 games of the season due to his eye injury, Richardson remains optimistic about his NFL future. The 23-year-old was drafted fourth in 2023, making him the Colts’ highest drafted player since Andrew Luck was selected first in 2012.
“Oh, yeah, no doubt,” Richardson said of his potential. “If I still got a chance to play football, then, s—, it’s always out there for me.”
Richardson said his eyesight continues to improve, and he’s already seen significant progress from when the orbital fracture happened. He’s scheduled for a check-up in January and anticipates a relatively typical offseason of training as he prepares for his fourth year.
However, that fourth season might not be in Indianapolis. Richardson has not become the franchise QB the Colts envisioned, due to injuries, inaccuracy and past immaturity. Richardson was benched for two games last season for what Steichen called a lack of game preparation.
After he returned to the starting lineup, he still finished with the franchise’s lowest single-season completion percentage (47.7). Richardson has only appeared in 17 games in three seasons, going 8-7 as a starter. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns against 13 interceptions, while adding 10 rushing TDs.
Richardson entered the 2025 campaign as the Colts’ backup after losing the starting job to Daniel Jones in training camp. Despite Jones tearing his right Achilles in Week 14, the Colts are expected to retain him in free agency, potentially giving him another season with Steichen and GM Chris Ballard if they are also retained this offseason.
Jones, the 2019 No. 6 pick, was released by the New York Giants last year and inked a one-year deal with Indianapolis. He quickly revived his career under Steichen, which has set him up to be the incumbent starter next year, assuming he doesn’t have any setbacks with his Achilles recovery.
In that scenario, if Richardson is still on the Colts’ roster, he’d likely be competing with rookie sixth-round pick Riley Leonard for the team’s QB2 role. Before it gets to that point, he and the team may welcome a trade.
Asked if he’s thought about what’s next for him, Richardson said he “always” thinks about his future but that he hasn’t looked too far ahead.
“I always want my life to be better, better than it was before,” Richardson said. “My life improves each and every year. I haven’t necessarily thought about my future here because I don’t see anything wrong right now. Setbacks happen. The injury to my eye kind of happened, so that kind of dictated what happened throughout the season.”
For now, Richardson looks forward to his last couple of practices, especially since he was initially told that he wouldn’t be able to suit up again in any capacity this season. Richardson has been working with the scout team and has enjoyed the controlled competition.
“Some plays, I catch myself out there throwing and fitting it into certain spots that I was doing before, so that definitely feels good,” Richardson said. “But there were a few plays that the defense did get me, and it hit me like, ‘Man, maybe I should’ve did this or that,’ but it’s just football. I’ve been making plays out there, and I’m excited to be back out there for sure.”
