Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson said that last week, the pain he was feeling was so intense that he had trouble walking.
This week, however, Richardson feels much better and is hopeful he might be able to start in Sunday’s season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After missing last weekend’s loss to the New York Giants, which ended the Colts’ playoff hopes, Richardson spoke to reporters on Wednesday for about six minutes, saying he hopes to play this week.
“Definitely feeling a lot better,” Richardson said. “Just lower back stuff. Last week was tough. I couldn’t even stand up on Tuesday, was kind of crawling around the house. But you know I’m standing up.”
Coach Shane Steichen had mentioned late last week that Richardson was still dealing with back soreness and might play. Richardson explained that he’s been dealing with back spasms since he was in eighth grade, and MRIs have shown disk problems that cause the pain from time to time.
Richardson, the former Florida star, has faced injuries in both of his first two NFL seasons. His rookie year was cut short after just four starts due to a concussion and a season-ending injury to his throwing shoulder.
He missed two games in October because of a hip injury and was benched for two games in November after he took himself out of a game for one play because he was tired. He missed last weekend’s game, leaving him with an 8-7 record as a starter.
The Colts held a walkthrough on Wednesday, and Steichen didn’t say if Richardson would have participated in a full practice if it had been a regular session. Still, both Steichen and the Colts players are hopeful Richardson will be able to play this week, even though the team’s playoff chances are already gone.
“We’re hopeful,” Steichen said. “He’s working through his rehab and his treatment right now. So we’ll see how this week progresses.”
Richardson wants to play, not just to prove the critics wrong about his consistency — he has a league-low completion rate of 47.7% with 12 interceptions and 8 touchdowns — or his ability to stay healthy. Instead, Richardson wants to show that he can lead the team to a win over the Jaguars (4-12) and end the season on a positive note.
“It’s tough you know, especially watching us lose the way we did with everything that was on the line, on the table for us,” Richardson said. “It just matters how you fight back and how you respond to certain things.”
