After two disappointing, injury-riddled seasons for Anthony Richardson, during which he started just 15 games and completed only 50.6 percent of his passes (third-worst since 1980), the 23-year-old was thrust into a QB battle in his third offseason. It’s only against Daniel Jones, but still.
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Richardson seemed to be in the driver’s seat for the Indianapolis Colts‘ starting job until about halfway through the first quarter of the team’s first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. On a 2nd and 10, Ravens edge David Ojabo came off the edge unblocked and cleaned Richardson’s clock.
Needless to say, Richardson was pulled from the game after that hit, though he isn’t expected to miss much time.
Anthony Richardson has been taken out of the game after this hit 😬 pic.twitter.com/cgvdZjMsis
— IcyVert (@IcyVert) August 7, 2025
Whether you chalk it up to bad luck, a massive mistake by the offensive line, or Richardson’s own miscue in not sliding the protection, the result is yet another setback for the injury-plagued QB. And FS1’s Jason McIntyre, who is far from the most respected voice in sports media (just check the replies to the tweet below), believes Richardson’s injury spells big trouble for the former No. 4 overall pick.
“Man, this guy cannot catch a break… Richardson, the prized recruit, he was a top five pick? We’re in Year 3 folks. He didn’t start enough games in college, he can’t make the reads at the line of scrimmage, he took himself out of a game last year… Hey man, Anthony, you better get your Canadian passport, because you’re gonna be playing in the CFL pretty soon,” said the analyst on The Herd.
"You better get your Canadian passport because you're gonna be playing in the CFL pretty soon. That's the negative side of Anthony Richardson."@jasonrmcintyre is not impressed with what he sees from the Colts QB pic.twitter.com/W2QwAcaV6z
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 8, 2025
It turns out that Richardson dodged a bullet, however. That hit could have easily resulted in all manner of serious injuries, but he escaped with nothing but a dislocated pinky on his right throwing hand. All of the subsequent X-rays came back clean, and the Colts believe he could return to practice as soon as this weekend.
Head coach Shane Steichen will be wiping his brow after hearing that news. McIntyre, however, believes that the head man deserves some blame for the injury too.
“Hey, uh, Shane Steichen, why would you put your former top five pick in a preseason game behind backup offensive tackles. What are we doing here?”
Richardson had been 2-for-3 for 21 yards before the injury. He was replaced by his top QB competition, offseason addition Jones. The former Giants signal caller did not exactly snatch the job in Richardson’s absence, going 10-for-21 for 144 yards. Sixth-round pick Riley Leonard wasn’t any better, going 12-for-24 for 92 yards and an INT.
The impact of that hit may have been overstated in the end. Richardson did not suffer any major injuries, and he may not even have to miss a practice session. To boot, he remains the betting favorite to be Indy’s Week 1 starter, with -250 odds. Jones is second at +200, and Leonard is way back at +6,500.
