Colts QB Richardson opts for season-ending surgery
Texans add former Lobo to active roster
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson has taken the final snap of his rookie season, opting for season-ending surgery on his injured throwing shoulder.
Coach Shane Steichen confirmed the decision before Wednesday’s practice.
Steichen said the team consulted multiple medical officials, weighed the long-term health of Richardson and his future with the franchise before everyone agreed surgery was the best option. Steichen did not say when the surgery would take place.
“I thought when he played, he was explosive and he was electric,” Steichen said. “He gives us an opportunity every time he steps on the field — just his bigplay ability, throwing the ball downfield, the runs he had, the touchdown runs. There is tremendous opportunity going forward.”
Those runs also made him susceptible to injuries, though.
The 6-foot-4, 244-pound Richardson suffered a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder at the end of a short run Oct. 8 against Tennessee. He hit the ground awkwardly, stayed down several minutes as medical staff treated him before he walked slowly to the team’s medical tent, his shoulder drooped.
Last week, Indy put Richardson on injured reserve as the debate over treatment continued.
Richardson also sat out the final minute of the season opener with a bruised knee and sore ankle and missed six more quarters after entering the concussion protocol during the first half of a Week 2 game at Houston. He only finished one of four starts.
Veteran Gardner Minshew replaced Richardson all three times and will now make his third start with the Colts (3-3) on Sunday against Cleveland. Minshew is coming off his worst performance of the season, throwing three interceptions and losing a fumble, in a 37-20 loss at Jacksonville.
TEXANS: Former UNM Lobo defensive back D’Angelo Ross has been activated to Houston’s 53-man roster.
The Texans, which announced the roster move on Wednesday, have a bye this week and next play on the road against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 29.
The 26-year-old Ross, a 5-foot9, 190-pounder from La Puente, Calif., appeared in 23 games for the Lobos in 2017 and 2018 with 85 total tackles, one interception and 17 pass break-ups.
He played three games with New England Patriots in 2021 and appeared in two games last season with the Texans.
The move coincided with the Texans placing safety Eric Murray, an eighth-year pro out of Minnesota, to the reserve/injured list.
BROWNS: Deshaun Watson’s return is either imminent, a day or two away or not happening for another few weeks. Nothing is certain at the moment with Cleveland’s $230 million starting quarterback.
Dealing with a “tricky” injury he described as a strain — and not a bruise as previously reported by the team — to the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, Watson, who has already missed two games, said Wednesday he doesn’t know when he’ll be back.
Watson didn’t practice Wednesday — he hasn’t since Sept. 29 — as the Browns (3-2) ramped up preparations for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts (3-3).
CARDINALS: Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray — almost always a man of few words — announced the next step in his return from an ACL injury with a two-word statement.
“Practicing today,” Murray posted on social media.
A few minutes later on Wednesday, the Cardinals made it official, announcing that Murray has been designated to return from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Arizona can activate Murray to the 53-man roster at any time during the next 21 days or at the conclusion of the threeweek period.
DOLPHINS: The Miami defense will get a boost soon with the return of All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Ramsey, whom the Dolphins acquired in an offseason trade with the Los Angeles Rams, practiced Wednesday for the first time since suffering a knee injury early in training camp.
Coach Mike McDaniel said Ramsey will not take the field when Miami faces Philadelphia on Sunday night as the team eases him back into action.
CHIEFS: The New York Jets are trading seldom-used wide receiver Mecole Hardman back to Kansas City, where he was part of two Super Bowl-winning teams, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The Jets also are sending a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft to the Chiefs and getting a sixth-rounder in return, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the teams had not announced the trade, which was first reported by ESPN.
The Chiefs selected the 25-yearold Hardman in the second round of the 2019 draft, and he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie as a return specialist.
GOODELL: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell received his long-expected contract extension on Wednesday.
“The Compensation Committee updated the full ownership today that an agreement has been reached to extend Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract for three years, through March 2027,” the league announced in a statement.
Financial terms of Goodell’s new contract weren’t immediately known. He reportedly earned $63.9 million for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The 64-year-old Goodell has served as commissioner since succeeding Paul Tagliabue in 2006. He began his NFL career as an administrative intern in 1982 under then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle.