The 2024 season presented a lot of drama and inconsistencies for the Colts. This, in turn, resulted in another disappointing end to their once hopeful season. That being said, though, the Colts still have Anthony Richardson as their quarterback, and his second season in the league sparked some intrigue.
By all accounts, the Colts are still in a rebuilding mode. Since the abrupt retirement of Andrew Luck, their search for a franchise quarterback has been a long six-year process. Even with Anthony Richardson and the promises his second season brought, questions still surround his legitimacy as the franchise quarterback.
Regardless, 2025 will be one of the most important seasons for the Colts organization and it hangs on Richardson’s ability to grow and develop. While it is hard to predict where Richardson is at in his development, there are still many things to hang onto from his second season in the league. Here are four things that have been learned from 2024 that will be intriguing to watch in 2025.
Four Things Learned from Anthony Richardson’s 2024 Season
Ridiculous Arm Strength
It was a widely held belief that one of Anthony Richardson’s strength’s coming out of college was his arm strength. Scouts saw glimpses of it in college and the combine. However, it was put on full display in the NFL and particularly in 2024. On 264 pass attempts, 60 were deep balls which ranked 10th in the league. He also led the league in air yards per attempt with 12.2. He also led the league in yards gained per completion with 14.4.
Richardson still has much to learn in terms of ball placement, accuracy, and decision-making. However, the verdict is clear on his ability to sling it down the field. 2025 will be an intriguing year to see just how much the Colts utilize Alec Pierce in long-yardage plays. he had a massive breakout season and it was due to Anthony Richardson’s arm strength. That duo could be something special moving forward.
Durability Issues
There is a saying around the NFL and sports in general that, “the best ability is availability”. Having tremendous talent is great, but if a player is constantly injured and unavailable, that is cause for major concern. The Colts find themselves in an interesting predicament. Anthony Richardson is hopeful to be their long-term quarterback, but season after season he has proven that he cannot stay healthy. In 2024, Richardson missed four games due to injury which is a big improvement from his rookie season where he missed 13 games. Nonetheless, the cause for concern is still at large.
The last thing that the Colts want to do is spend money and time on an injury-prone player. Richardson has shown that he is prone to injury, but he is still young so the verdict is still out on just how durable he is. Therefore, 2025 will be a good tell-tale of whether Richardson can be available for his team or not.
Explosive Play Ability
One of the big reasons Anthony Richardson was a first-round draft pick was his explosive ability. He certainly has not disappointed on that front. His arm strength has already been addressed, but the overall explosive capabilities are what is so intriguing. In 2024, he had 499 yards rushing which ranked 5th amongst quarterbacks. He had six rushing touchdowns which ranked fourth and averaged 45.4 yards rushing per game which ranked third. The fact that Richardson was a threat to run, helped free up opportunities down the field. Again, Richardson still has room to develop as a passer, but his legs are in their prime and 2024 exploited that.
Immaturity
On a negative note, the 2024 season saw some immaturity issues in Anthony Richardson. Colts general manager, Chris Ballard addressed the decision to bench Richardson mid-season and stated that Richardson was “drowning”. There was no elaboration on what that meant, but the statement was clear. Richardson just wasn’t ready to lead the team and it was probably more to do with off-the-field leadership than just playing ability.
Richardson is only 22 years old and had only 13 starts in college, coupled with an extremely shortened rookie season. Therefore, the experience was mightily lacking, and being thrust into one of the most stressful jobs in sports might not have been the wisest decision. Ballard addressed the fact that he felt that Richardson should’ve been on the bench longer. Regardless, 2024 was certainly a wake-up call for Richardson. He will still be one of the youngest starting quarterbacks going into 2025. Nonetheless, he has experienced a lot of adversity already and is primed to come back from it.
Main Photo: Junfu Han – Imagn Images
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