Balancing Act: Colts Embrace Anthony Richardson’s Rushing Talent While Enhancing His Protection

When questioned, Steichen believes that the young quarterback should still prioritize protecting his body, especially in certain situations where every yard isn’t crucial:

“Yeah, I think that’s a great question, and I get asked that a lot,” responded Steichen to host Chris Long regarding Richardson’s rushing approach. “Obviously, with Jalen Hurts in Philly, same type of deal. A guy that can run around and make plays. You don’t want to take that away from them you know. That’s what makes those guys special.

“Obviously, that’s a part of our game offensively with him running the football. But you know, there’s a time and place of when to go get it. Shoot, is it a gotta have it situation where you gotta go get it? Yeah, you gotta go get it. But if it’s 1st and 2nd down, and it might be 2nd and 5, but shoot, I’m going to get those 2 extra yards and take a big hit, make it 2nd and 5, you know what I mean. I mean it’s alright to be 2nd and 5 than 2nd and 3, and we’ll live.”

“We’ll live with that, so those are conversations that we’ve had obviously when he got here, and ongoing, and we’ll work through those this offseason again, but staying healthy at that position is huge.”

While some of Richardson’s early season injuries were simply unlucky, he did ‘let up’ on a rushing touchdown against the Houston Texans in Game 2 on his way to the end zone—and eventually endured a helmet-to-helmet hit and a concussion from safety M.J. Stewart, which knocked him out of the Colts victory—as he did not return to the game.

Something that his offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter also mentioned, more recently:

“Anthony (Richardson) is an extremely high level athlete, no doubt about that. But even that, (at Florida) he’s used to striding into the end zone nice and easy and gosh, that safety is a step faster than he was expecting,” Cooter said via ProFootballTalk. “Guys are there just a step quicker. That shows up for every young player, every young quarterback. As you’re evaluating pass concepts, those holes close a little bit sooner.”

““I think that thing will slow down for Anthony. He will be able to evaluate how guys are moving around him a little bit better — sort of Year 2. Like every young player, especially at the quarterback position, you learn how to take care of yourself and how important it is that we’re out there for a bunch of games and able to sort of manage how we go through a season because it is a longer season in the NFL than college. Be able to go about our business and learn how to sort of play game after game after game and show up every single game.”

However, like Steichen, Cooter doesn’t want to restrict Richardson from one of the things he does so well and makes him a tantalizing dual-threat athlete at starting quarterback:

“I mean, he’s got extreme athletic talent like we talked about. You don’t want to restrict that,” Cooter said. “You don’t want to say, ‘Hey, never ever move around,’ because gosh, he’s so special. He’s so special at it and it’s finding that balance, finding that sweet spot of being able to use our athleticism, use his athleticism but like I said, be able to get up, play that next play, play that next game, and that’s what we’re all trying — trying to get this thing done. That’s what the emphasis is for him.”

The Colts called 15 designed runs for Richardson during his 4 starts last season—and the initial results were very encouraging regarding explosive plays, so there’s no need to limit his rushing ability:

Anthony Richardson Explosive Play rate last year was very fun:

9/84 attempts (20+ yds) = 10.7% (would be 3rd in NFL)
4/18 carries = 22.2% (would be 1st among QB rushing)

Colts as a team for 2023 were:
• 2nd in Explosive Run% (14%)
• 20th in Explosive Pass% (8%)

— Jay Robins 🧾mark (@RobinsLucas) May 9, 2024

Like any young player, Richardson can better protect his body. Former Colts franchise quarterback Andrew Luck went through it early on (even playing through a lacerated kidney in-game) before he eventually learned how to baseball slide in later years—and maybe not fight for every last yard on the field.

Getting lower, giving the opposing defenders less body to hit, and knowing when to slide are key for Richardson extending his professional playing career to its maximum limit.

However, there was also the recovered former Colts running back Donald Brown fumble for a leaping ‘Superman’ touchdown over the goal line that #12 had against the Kansas City Chiefs during Indianapolis’s improbable 2013 Wildcard round comeback win—where Luck put his body on the line when the Colts needed it the most.

It was one of Luck’s most iconic plays with the franchise, and no one’s complaining about it—unless you’re a Chiefs fan.

Those are the type of ‘gotta have it’ plays that Steichen was talking about, not the 2nd and 5 play, where 2 extra yards may be nice, but not in the grand scheme of things, when undertaking an unnecessary big hit could cost a quarterback the rest of his season.

The position, and Richardson’s health, is too important for the success of the Colts.

I, for one, am glad the Colts are not restricting Richardson because taking away his rushing ability would be removing one of his biggest strengths—and what makes him so special. That being said, there’s always the ability for him to play a little bit smarter in the future by better protecting his body, at least situationally.