The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t play the Indianapolis Colts until Week 15, but the Colts could be down a major piece as Ian Rapoport reported this morning that their rookie QB Anthony Richardson could miss the entirety of the 2023 season. Richardson is currently on IR with an injured AC Joint in his shoulder, and after seeking multiple opinions, it’s believed that surgery would be the best course of action to fix the issue long-term.
Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reports that the Colts are “leaning toward” the surgery that would end Richardson’s season.
The Colts aren’t in bad hands if Richardson does indeed miss the season, as he’s been replaced by QB Gardner Minshew II. Minshew is one of the better backups in the league, and thus far he has 552 yards and two touchdowns to zero interceptions in 83 attempts.
The Colts will look to continue to lean on their run game, of which Richardson was a big part of it. He’s a big, fast and supremely athletic quarterback, but with him sidelined it will be on RBs Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss to step up. Moss had a big game in Indianapolis’ Week Five win over the Tennessee Titans, carrying the ball 23 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Indianapolis is currently 3-2 and in second place in the AFC South. Pittsburgh is 0-1 so far against the AFC South this season, losing to the Houston Texans 30-6 in Week Four. Their next matchup against the division will come in Week Eight at Acrisure Stadium when the Steelers play host to the 3-2 Jacksonville Jaguars.
If Richardson’s season is indeed over, his rookie campaign will end with him going 50-84 for 577 yards in four games, two of which he failed to finish due to injury. He also added 25 carries for 136 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
