Colts rookie Richardson gets an immediate leadership role
INDIANAPOLIS — From the moment Anthony Richardson’s name was called on draft day, the rookie quarterback has been like a double shot of espresso for everybody around the Colts.
For the fans, the mere selection of Richardson was a shot of life, the chance at developing a true franchise quarterback they’ve coveted since Andrew Luck’s retirement. For the front office, Richardson was a reset, a chance to finally halt the revolving door they’d been pushing at the quarterback position.
For the locker room, Richardson’s joie de vivre is exactly the kind of energy this team needed after the disappointment and disillusionment of the past two seasons.
Richardson was voted a team captain this week, a 21-year-old rookie with six other captains who are long-time Colts, fully established in the league and locker room: Quenton Nelson, Shaquille Leonard, Ryan Kelly, DeForest Buckner, Zaire Franklin and Kenny Moore II. The rookie earned the spot. Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen stressed that point in his announcement.
“It just shows what the team has thought about him,” Steichen said. “There was no favoritism. These guys, it was their votes.”
Part of it is the position he plays. Everyone in an NFL locker room realizes that the quarterback plays an enormous role in setting the tone for the team, good or bad.
“It’s really important for the quarterbacks to be the leaders of the offense,” wide receiver Alec Pierce said.
And part of it is that Richardson hit a lot of the markers that typically come with veteran leadership. When Richardson first got in the building, he was known for always having his nose in the playbook, trying to get up to speed, and the veterans took notice.
“Leaders learn from their mistakes and admit it, and I think he’s done a great job of that,” Kelly said. “Personally, when he watches his film and goes through it himself, but also in front of the team. He’ll be the first person to put blame on himself or say what he needs to work to get better at.”
What sets Richardson apart, though, is the joy that marks the way he plays the game, the energy he brings to the huddle.
Richardson’s always smiling, always celebrating with the fans, a natural at injecting life into a huddle. Early in training camp, when the Colts were still splitting first-team reps between Richardson and veteran backup Gardner Minshew, the rookie often opened periods Minshew was leading by dapping up every starter on the offense, trying to offer a little encouragement.
He can’t help it. Excitement flows out of him.
“I think that stuff happens naturally, it’s all organic,” Steichen said. “That’s the person he is. That’s what you want out of a leader.”
Richardson also brings a swagger to the Colts, a fearlessness that his teammates love.
Famous already for wearing Florida gear to Miami’s campus during summer workouts, a Super Bowl XLI jacket to a preseason matchup against the Bears and for doing the “Fly, Eagles, Fly” celebration after a preseason touchdown against Philadelphia, Richardson has shown he’s not going to back down from anybody, and his teammates love that about him.
“You saw what he did in the last preseason game,” running back Deon Jackson said. “He’s like that every day. He brings the same energy, the same passion every day to work. It’s infectious, it’s contagious, and it’s rallied everybody behind him.”
Richardson’s joy for the game wouldn’t resonate so much if he didn’t have the work behind it, if he didn’t take responsibility for mistakes that sometimes aren’t entirely his own, like he did after throwing his first interception in Buffalo on a play that was broken, in part, because a receiver ran the wrong route.
The locker room has had a lot of time to get to know Richardson, and after the pressure, disgust and dreck of the 2022 season, a fresh perspective is perfect for this Colts team.
“You can see, over time, over OTAs and the summer and camp, he got more acclimated, and you can see his personality come up,” Jackson said. “He’s going to make sure you’re on your stuff, but he’s still young. He likes to have fun.”
And that’s an underrated quality for a leader to have in a place as hard and as unrelenting as the NFL can be on a daily basis.
When players are battling through injuries, when a team is on a losing streak, when practices get long, a team needs a shot of energy.
Right now, Richardson is the Colts’ morning coffee, the team’s afternoon Coca-Cola.
“Really, he’s a kid out there having fun,” Pierce said. “It’s fun to play with him.”