Anthony Richardson has had some impressive moments in the first few games of his career but staying on the field has been an issue.
He's appeared in four of the Colts five games, helping lead them to a 2-2 record. He's completed 59.5 percent of his passes, thrown for 577 yards, three touchdowns and just a single pick, adding another four touchdowns on the ground.
But he's also suffered a knee injury, a concussion and a shoulder injury and had to cede basically half of the Colts offensive snaps to backup Gardner Minshew. He won't be on the field for Sunday's Week 6 matchup against the Jaguars and it could be a while before he's back on the field.
Why was Anthony Richardson placed on injured reserve?
The Colts announced Wednesday that Richardson would be going on injured reserve because of the shoulder injury he suffered last week against the Titans. That move means he will be out of the lineup for at least four weeks but, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, he could be out much longer:
"Richardson sustained an AC joint sprain in Sunday's win over the Titans. The team has been doing extensive consultation with doctors to determine the length of Richardson's absence and now believes he will miss between four and eight weeks depending on his rehab and whether surgery is required, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday."
According to ESPN, head coach Shane Steichen declined to rule out the possibility that Richardson would miss the rest of the regular season.
Even if Richardson is healthy enough to play in four-to-eight weeks it's possible the Colts keep him on the bench anyway. The team is 3-2 and in the playoff hunt even though it's early in the season. They've just resolved their contract negotiations with Jonathan Taylor and will have him back on the field more and more. In addition, Minshew is a more than capable backup and could help the Colts stay competitive in Richardson's absence.
If Richardson comes off IR and the Colts are 5-4 or even 4-5 it may make sense to play it more cautiously with their rookie quarterback, let him do some learning from the bench while pushing for a postseason berth.