Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson suffered a concussion in just his second game as a professional, and was forced to miss the final two quarters of his two-touchdown performance. Richardson has now played two games, and suffered an injury in both, which is a trend to watch for a player who relies so heavily on his legs.
Richardson dominated the first quarter-and-a-half of play, but a hit by a Houston Texans defender knocked him out of the game. The hit appeared to be helmet to helmet, though that wasn't called on the field.
Assuming Richardson can eventually pass concussion protocol this week in practice, he will be cleared to play in the Colts next game. But it's easy to see why Indianapolis football fans would be concerned about their rookie given the nature of the hit.
How concerned should Colts fans be about Anthony Richardson's injury?
Anthony Richardson has played in two professional football regular season games, and he's been injured in both of those games. It's easy to understand why some fans would have an issue with the way Richardson is putting his body on the line. Some of that will be learned with time, and the early experience of being forced off the field should only help the Florida product in time.
If the Colts coaching staff is smart, they will use this as a learning experience for Richardson, and teach him how to appropriately slide and avoid contact. It's something every young mobile quarterback has to learn. Assuming Richardson doesn't take the Josh Allen approach of embracing hard contact, the he'll be just fine. Even Michael Vick and Cam Newton eventually learned that running around defenders, rather than into them, was the best approach for having a long-term NFL career.
But it's understandable that Richardson would want to do anything in his power to help Indy win. Staying on the field is just as important, though.
