Anthony Richardson Sr. knows he has work to do.
The 23-year-old quarterback doesn't shy away from it, recognizing and accepting the fact that to earn a job as a starting quarterback in the NFL, he's got to keep developing.
The Colts named Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback for the 2025 season on Tuesday, putting an end to the quarterback competition between Jones and Richardson that was the theme of the offseason and all of training camp. But it's not really the end of anything for Richardson – it's just a change.
"You just gotta respect it and just keep working," Richardson said Tuesday. "That doesn't undermine any of the work I've been putting in, doesn't say that I haven't improved. So I'm proud of the improvement that I've made, Shane has also been proud of that, so just got to keep stacking on that and keep getting better.
"...I just can't let me not being a starter stop me from growing and being the person, the player that I'm supposed to be."
"There's still room for AR to grow," head coach Shane Steichen said. "He's 23 years old, he's still learning, still growing. And for the first time in his career, this is an opportunity for him to sit at the start of the season and learn in a different light and attack it the right way."
Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard made it clear over the last few months that no matter results of the quarterback competition, the Colts would not be giving up on Richardson. In July, Ballard emphasized the need for patience with a quarterback they knew was going to be a long-term project, and at the conclusion of training camp assistant general manager Ed Dodds made it explicitly clear that this is not a make-or-break season for Richardson.
"He's young and he's talented," Dodds said. "And we knew it was going to be a long-term project."
Steichen also wants consistency from the man under center this season, though, specifically pointing to operation at the line of scrimmage, protection, completion percentage and ball placement. And while Richardson has certainly made strides in those areas, Steichen said, he needs to continue progressing.
"He knows he still needs to develop and learn in those areas, and he knows that he's one play away," Steichen said. "He handled it great. We sat down in my office this morning and talked and I said hey, here's the things you need to keep improving on, things I hit early about the consistency, and he agreed. He's like yeah, I got room for growth there. And I said, you're one play away, and he told me the same thing — he's like, you're right, I am one play away knowing that if something happened to Daniel, he's gotta be ready to go."
That's the mindset Richardson is taking into the season: stay ready so you don't have to get ready, because you never know when your number will be called.
As the backup quarterback, Richardson will be expected (and is ready) to prepare and go about each week like he is the starter, in case he does find an opportunity play. He will also be leading the scout team offense each week in another opportunity for him to get reps and continue improving.
"When you are on the scout team, I think you can still work on your fundamentals and your technique and going through it and going after the defense on the scout team," Steichen said. "I think that's all part of it."
"Growth is growth," Richardson said. "You're gonna learn from what you learn from...people learn differently, you get different ways to get out there and experience things, but you gotta be willing to grow. And I'm willing to learn, I'm willing to grow."
If there's one thing that's clear through everything, it's this: no one – not Steichen, not Richardson, not any player or member of the Colts organization – has given up on the young quarterback.
"He competed hard and he did make improvements," wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr said. "He's still so young, I mean, who knows what's out there in front of him. As long as he keeps on getting better every single day, I just, I can't see it not working out for him in the long run."
