The Colts have made it clear that they’d like to get No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson on the field and playing sooner than later, as experience will further his development.
But part of that is up to Richardson, as it’s incumbent upon him to be as prepared for action as possible.
The quarterback appears to be taking that seriously, as he discussed going through detailed notes ahead of meetings during his Tuesday press conference.
“For one, my position and the light that I’m in — I can’t do the bare minimum,” Richardson said. “The team would not allow that, I would not allow that for myself. I know the GM, coach and the owner definitely don’t want that from me. It’s just a matter of me putting the work in.
“I’m not just doing it for show — I actually want to learn this information, know this information for the team because I don’t want to get thrown out there and I’m lost and the team is like, ‘Why is this dude out there?’ I just want to make sure I’m on point with everything and I’m doing my job the best way I can.”
Richardson noted that he’s been leaning on fellow quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Sam Ehlinger as he’s been learning the offense and both of them have been helpful.
“[Minshew’s] been through it, Sam’s been through it. They just help me stay calm,” Richardson said. “As a rookie, especially a QB, it’s a lot. You would see it as too much and they just help me stay sane. It’s all part of the process, we’ve all been through it and we all want to know everything but we can’t. It’s just a matter of learning. Going through those practices where it does seem too fast for me and I do make mistakes here and there, it’s like OK I made this mistake because of that and I have to fix it for the future.”
Richardson noted that he’s “loving” being in head coach Shane Steichen’s offense and that things have slowed down for him since his arrival after the draft. The rookie also said he’s planning to get with not just receivers, but also Minshew in the time between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp to continue to get more comfortable in the offense.
There’s a long way to go before the regular season, but Richardson seems to be doing plenty to play as soon as possible.