Report: Colts QB Anthony Richardson to undergo MRI on hip, but optimistic he won’t miss any time

Colts QB Anthony Richardson reportedly suffered a hip pointer, but it’s not expected to keep him out for long, if it even does at all.

Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Anthony Richardson reportedly suffered a hip pointer, after inexplicably failing to slide on a 14-yard run midway through the first quarter during Sunday afternoon upset home victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He was initially listed as “questionable,” but after he admittedly “could not accelerate” following the hip injury, both he and the Colts mutually decided that the best move was for him to not return on Sunday against the Steelers, given the two-score lead and the availability of longtime NFL veteran quarterback Joe Flacco as his backup.

Richardson was later downgraded to ‘out,’ and Flacco, who had initially played well, continued to fill in relief of the injured 2nd-year Colts starting quarterback.

Per FOX59/CBS4’s Mike Chappell, Richardson will undergo an MRI on what was initially diagnosed as a ‘hip pointer,’ but the current thought around the team via ESPN’s Stephen Holder is that the injured hip is more of a bruising issue than any sort of structural one.

The hope is that Richardson will miss minimal time, if he even misses any game time at all:

Before being held out with the hip injury, Richardson had gotten off to an encouraging start against the NFL’s #1 team ranked defense entering the afternoon. He had completed 3 of 4 pass attempts for 71 total passing yards, as well as rushed 3 times for 24 total rushing yards.

Post-game, despite being a bit banged up, he seemed to be encouraged about his potential availability headed into next weekend on the road against the rival Jacksonville Jaguars:

For what’s it’s worth too, Richardson, at least publicly, isn’t second-guessing his decision not to slide before suffering the hip injury—but it appears to be another lesson, he’s learned the hard way, much like former Colts franchise quarterback Andrew Luck did before him (who initially played through a lacerated kidney after not properly sliding during Week 9 of 2015 at home against the Denver Broncos):

During Richardson’s first 8 career starts spanning 2023-24, he hasn’t been able to finish at least 3 of them because of injuries—and outside the season-ending shoulder injury, two of those (the concussion against Houston last year, where he let up running into the end zone, and this weekend’s hip injury) being self-inflicted due to a lack of properly protecting one’s body and/or in-game awareness.

It’s too premature to say, “Richardson is injury prone,” but then again, he’s not doing himself any favors of shooting down that fresh narrative, fair or unfair, by not properly protecting his body out there. It doesn’t matter how big or strong you are in the NFL at quarterback, you can’t routinely withstand those type of high impact hits in the open field at the professional level long-term and expect to have a lengthy NFL career (just ask Andrew Luck).

There still shouldn’t be a ‘quarterback controversy’ in Indianapolis as far as I’m concerned, as Richardson still needs the reps and the playing experience (and candidly, a veteran Joe Flacco led team probably finishes similarly to how a Gardner Minshew led Colts team fared last year, i.e., decent, but ultimately falling a bit short of the playoff sticks).

However, by inexplicably not sliding midway through the first quarter, Richardson has at least cracked open that door given how well Flacco fared in relief on Sunday, when it otherwise would’ve remained shut, had he actually finished the game healthy.

Now, there’s at least the question (and arguably limited proof) of whether the former Super Bowl MVP would help the Colts win more games going forward into the 2024 campaign.