On Sunday at 1 p.m., after exactly 11 months of waiting, the Colts will unleash Anthony Richardson on the NFL.
What that will look like is, for the most part, a mystery. The Colts didn't show much in the two preseason games in which the 6-foot-4, 250 pound Richardson played. But for the people who did have an up-front view of him over the last few months, there's a simmering belief that the Colts have a 22-year-old with the ability and mentality to assert himself as one of the NFL's top young quarterbacks.
"I know that," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "But it's time for the world to find out."
As Richardson has prepared himself for his first regular season games since Oct. 8, 2023, he's done so understanding the external expectations placed on him – but keeping his focus on what he and the Colts collectively want to accomplish in 2024. There's plenty of pressure that comes with being not just an NFL starting quarterback, but a QB1 who was selected in the top five picks of an NFL draft.
And there's even more pressure of being that quarterback for a team with legitimate playoff aspirations, as the Colts have. But the eminently calm, cool and collected Richardson believes he can not only handle the expectations and pressure, but be a team leader because of them.
"As the franchise guy, people are expecting you to win and do great things," Richardson said. "So that's some pressure right there on itself – winning, trying to win. Things don't go your way, you can't let it roll over like that. So, you just (have) got to make sure you focus and not let the outside expectations take control."
Answers like that – backed up by Richardson's even-keel mentality – point to an important trait he possesses. It goes beyond his rocket arm or his blend of speed and power with the ball in his hands. It goes beyond his ability to navigate muddy pockets while still processing and reading opposing defenses. It goes beyond his natural, non-robotic feel for playing quarterback.
"The pressure on that position – we all know, especially when you draft one high, he's automatically stamped as the automatic savior before he's even played a down," general manager Chris Ballard said on the eve of Richardson's first training camp with the Colts in 2023. "Him and I have had long talks about being able to handle the highs and lows of the position because you have to.
"You all know how it is. Even the established ones that will have down moments – all of a sudden the world says they're done. It's a week-to-week league. That's just what our league is. So, how you perform from week to week is pretty much what people are going to write and you've got to be able to handle that. You've got to be able to handle the good and the bad, and take both in stride."
Week 1 overreactions are a staple of NFL coverage that traffics in hot takes. Inevitably, a week from now, how Richardson played against Houston will be a part of those conversations. But before, during and after Sunday afternoon, Richardson won't be fazed by any of it.
Because he, like his coaches and teammates, is entering the 2024 season with the sort of level-headed confidence to navigate everything thrown at him over at least the next 18 weeks.
"I feel real excited for him going into this thing," head coach Shane Steichen said. "He's attacked it the right way. Really looking forward to him on Sunday."
