Colts HC believes Anthony Richardson has great mentor on team

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen views quarterback Gardner Minshew as a perfect mentor for rookie Anthony Richardson.

"Gardner’s done a hell of a job taking him under his wing in that quarterback room," Steichen said about the Minshew-Richardson relationship amid voluntary organized team activities, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "Obviously, he’s got experience. He’s played a ton of games in this league. But he’s done a really nice job, I’m really pleased with where he’s at, with everything we’re doing on offense and the same thing, helping Anthony at the same time." 

Steichen served as Minshew's offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles across the past two seasons and, thus, is quite familiar with the 27-year-old who signed with the Colts in March knowing Indianapolis would probably spend overall draft pick No. 4 on a signal-caller. While Richardson is doing "next-level stuff" during springtime workouts, it's thought he could begin the 2023 campaign beneath Minshew on the depth chart. 

"Obviously being around him and what I know what he’s capable of, his brain and how it functions — he loves football, and that’s a big part of it," Steichen added about Minshew. "It’s a big plus for me to be around a guy that I know personally at that position that knows the system, that I know how he operates, he knows how I operate. It definitely helps." 

Multiple noteworthy members of the football community praised the Colts for grabbing Richardson late last month, but ESPN's David Newton wrote for a piece published on April 25 that the 21-year-old "having only 13 college starts and a low 2022 completion percentage (53.8%) made him too much of a project to take at No. 1" for the Carolina Panthers. 

It sounds like Steichen would be comfortable starting Minshew in the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 10 if the coach views Richardson as a project for the future and not this fall by the end of August.