Colts Notebook: Anthony Richardson Not Practicing Fully

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INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts (2-2) are back in the division in Week 5.

With uncertain statuses for Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor, the Colts are taking on the Jaguars (0-4) in a place they haven’t won since 2014.

Here are some takeaways from the Colts first practice of the week:

• So Anthony Richardson’s status is very murky on this Wednesday. Shane Steichen said this about Richardson (oblique) ahead of Wednesday’s practice: “We’ll see. On a limited basis, possibly. We will get him warmed up before we go out to practice.” In the pre-practice locker room session, Richardson said he won’t practice though and is still a little sore. Richardson said he still has some questions with acceleration and rotating when it comes to running/throwing. Steichen said “the plan” is for Richardson to play on Sunday. We have yet to see Richardson go through a week of limited/missed practice time in the NFL and still play on that Sunday, so that’s something to watch in Week 5. Steichen said on Wednesday that Richardson could play on Sunday even without practicing this week. I do think the Colts have a preparation advantage here in the uncertainty for the Jaguars in game-planning for Anthony Richardson vs. Joe Flacco. A winless Jaguars team having to prepare for two different style quarterbacks (although they did see both last season) throughout the week seems like an advantage for the Colts. Does Steichen have any lingering regrets over how he handled Richardson in the Steelers game—bringing him back in after just 2 missed snaps and then having a run play right away? “Obviously you kind of look at that and it hurts. Then you bring him back in, and the look that they had, we had 3 runs up and they went base defense and, yeah, it sucks.” Steichen said Richardson’s injury history will not impact the decision to play him or not in Week 5. One would think this game means a tad more to Richardson given its played in the city he grew up.

• Jonathan Taylor (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. If we are trying to gauge potential carries without Taylor this Sunday, let’s go back to last December against the Steelers. That’s when Taylor was out, and Zach Moss exited early in the 2^nd quarter. From there, Trey Sermon got 18 carries (for 88 yards) and Tyler Goodson got 11 carries (for 69 yards). Sermon played 29 snaps to Goodson’s 19 snaps. Remember, when playing through another right ankle injury in 2022, Taylor’s availability started and stopped several times that season. Will that impact him at all this time around?

• Wednesday marked the first time we’ve seen Joe Flacco get starting reps in a Colts practice since the spring. Flacco has seen the Jaguars recently. In a December win over the Jaguars last season, Flacco went 26-of-45 for 311 yards, 3 touchdowns an 1 interception in the Browns win over the Jags.

• One note I had on Tyquan Lewis (elbow) heading to injured reserve. First, what an absolute bummer for a player that has been through so much with multiple patellar injuries, and after playing every single game last season. Lewis suffered his elbow injury on the final drive against the Steelers, with the injury happening at the end of the chaotic errant snap by the Steelers. Lewis did an amazing job of getting off the field in that sequence, therefore keeping the clock running. Had Lewis needed medical attention on the field, the clock would have stopped with the Colts having to take a timeout due to injury. On Wednesday, Shane Steichen said the Colts aren’t putting a timetable on if/when Lewis could return this season.

• A quarter into the 2024 season, how about a Colts checkup at 2-2. What has Steichen liked about this team through 4 games?  “I really like the resilience they’ve played with. We talked earlier that it’s a long season. You start off 0-2 and obviously there’s all the narratives of, ‘Oh, they are 0-2.’ You could lose two in a row in Week 10, 11. We just happened to do it the first two weeks and now we’re sitting at .500. I like the way our team has been battling. Obviously, a division opponent on the road going into Jacksonville this week. I like the way they are fighting for sure.” Where does Steichen think the Colts need to improve? “Everywhere. Obviously, we want to take care of the football. I thought we did that last week, we got the takeaways. We have to continue to do that. We talk about all the time winning the turnover battle is huge. We got to do that this week.”

• AD Mitchell has 2 catches on 13 targets this season. His 15.4 catch percentage is the worst in the NFL of 182 qualifying pass catchers. Now, there’s certainly some context around this. But the summary is the Colts have struggled mightily when targeting Mitchell. Still though, it appears Mitchell is doing a fine job of creating separation and getting open. That’s not always a given for rookies. Finishing those plays and being better at the point of attack though, while also working on timing with his quarterbacks are definitely things the rookie needs to work.

• It’s pretty amazing to see E.J. Speed on the verge of breaking an NFL record. That would be Speed having 8 straight games with at least 10 tackles. He is currently tied with Zach Thomas for that record. Speed played just 2 years of linebacker in college at Tarleton State and yet here he is on the verge of a pretty impressive mark. And it comes at an important time for the former 5th round pick, as he’s in a contract year.

• The NFL world likes to break up seasons into quarters. Well, I’d argue the most important quarter of the 2024 campaign is here for the Colts. It’s highlighted by all 3 divisional road games, with this 4-game quarter looking like this: at Jaguars, at Titans, Dolphins, at Texans. For a Colts team that has already lost its first divisional game of the year, heightened urgency is needed for these ones. Remember, the Colts have won just 4 of their last 14 divisional games.

• The Jaguars are the last winless team in the NFL at 0-4. They got smoked by the Bills, but their other 3 losses (Dolphins, Browns and Texans) were all by 5 points or less. Now, a huge issue for the Jaguars right now is the inaccuracy of Trevor Lawrence. He’s been wildly off-target with his throws in 2024. And the Jaguars have lost 9 straight games Lawrence has started. All of this has brought Doug Pedersen job security/have you lost the locker room questions just 4 games into the season. That’s a far cry from a team that tied for the AFC’s best record heading into last December.

• As we highlight the Colts and their injuries going into Week 5, the Jaguars are also facing some questions there. With top-flight pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen in concussion protocol this week, the Jaguars could be without their top 3 defenders for Sunday. Leading tackler Foye Oluokun is on injured reserve, as is top cornerback Tyson Campbell.

• Yes, that other horrid Colts streak is at stake this weekend. The Colts have yet to win a season opener since 2013 and they’ve yet to win a road game in Jacksonville since the 2014 campaign. The 9 losses have come with 7 different Colts quarterbacks starting those games: Matt Hasselbeck, Andrew Luck (2), Jacoby Brissett (2), Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Gardner Minshew. For the Jaguars, these are the quarterbacks who have won those games: Trevor Lawrence (3), Blake Bortles (3), Gardner Minshew (2), Cody Kessler. Chad Henne was the starting quarterback the last time the Colts beat the Jaguars in Jacksonville.

• On the injury front, the following Colts did not practice on Wednesday: Jonathan Taylor (ankle), Braden Smith (knee), Ryan Kelly (neck), Kwity Paye (quad), Zaire Franklin (illness), Kenny Moore II (quad).