The future is now for one of the NFL’s top quarterback prospects.
The Indianapolis Colts named Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, their starting quarterback Tuesday.
Richardson, who made his preseason debut Saturday vs. the Buffalo Bills, had been in a quarterback competition with veteran Gardner Minshew.
“Anthony’s just been progressing,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said, according to ESPN.
“The growth he’s shown then, obviously, going into Buffalo, playing against a lot of their starters, he showed great signs of improvement. I like the things he did and it’s an opportunity now for him to get a lot more with the [starters] moving forward and we go from there.”
Richardson was 7 of 12 for 67 yards and one interception vs. the Bills, but impressed the coaching staff by bouncing back from the pick to lead a pair of drives into Buffalo territory.
The Colts struggled at quarterback in 2022, rotating through former NFL MVP Matt Ryan, former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles and 2021 sixth-round draft pick Sam Ehlinger.
ESPN reports Steichen informed Richardson and Minshew of his decision Monday night, then had a two-hour conversation with the rookie on what’s next.
The 21-year-old Richardson said he was “shocked” by the decision.
“You work for it [but] you didn’t know when the timeline was going to be,” he said.
“I was just looking forward to Week 1 and just being ready for the opportunity and getting thrown in the fire hopefully. But then he told me, and I’m like, ‘Wow, it really happened.'”
Richardson will have a home crowd cheering him on when he faces the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Sept. 10. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
According to ESPN, this will be the eighth straight season opener where the Colts have a new starting quarterback, tied for second-longest streak since 1950, when the league started tracking QB starts.
The 1998-2006 Chicago Bears own the record with nine quarterbacks in nine years.
