How Did Anthony Richardson View Humbling Second Season?
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INDIANAPOLIS – In the present, it was certainly a step backwards, in more than one area.
Optimistically, the hope is the harsh reality that set in during Anthony Richardson’s second season is the exact wake-up call needed.
“Adversity,” is the word Richardson uses to describe a second season in saw him benched, spend 4 games on the sideline due to injury and have more inconsistency when under center.
“You need that, especially in this league just to fine-tune certain things, especially on the field. But just off the field as well, learning the NFL. Learning the aspects of everything, and just learning how to be better. I feel like adversity is the thing that gives us a chance to deliver that. So, I definitely learned a lot about adversity.”
Amidst more downs than ups on the field, Richardson was benched at the start of November for a couple of weeks.
Certainly, Joe Flacco’s struggling play during that time played into Richardson getting another chance in 2024.
But the young quarterback acknowledges he needed self-improvement in how his Monday-Saturday habits were practiced.
“I think being intentional, honestly,” the second-year quarterback says looking back on his benching.
“Sometimes you do something for so long, it’s like, ‘Okay, that’s routine, that’s natural. I can do that with my eyes closed.’ But to get better, I feel like you have to be intentional about every single thing you’re doing, every minute of the day. You can’t just let it just fly by because you’ve been doing it for so long. So, I think just being intentional. That’s something I definitely learned about this year or this past season. I’m definitely looking forward to this year just being intentional about every single thing no matter what.”
The plan is for a healthy Richardson to take his training to Florida, along with time in Indy at times here in 2025.
Right now, all of that focus is done on his own, before the Colts reconvene for the spring offseason program sometime in April.
For most NFL players a third season falls into the majorly critical category. That’s more than the case for Richardson, as the Colts will have to make their first financial decision on him following the season (if they pick up Richardson’s 5th year team option for the 2027 season).
“People are going to expect more,” Richardson says. “And that’s the nature of the game.
“I expect more out of myself, honestly. Obviously, we fell short this past season, especially with not making it to the playoffs. But I feel like I could have done a lot more. I could have done a lot more in the building, outside of the building, in my life, to be a better player. So, I think the expectation is going to be a little bit more, which I’m expecting, I’m expecting out of myself.”
