Colts rookie QB Anthony Richardson gets huge honor from teammates

The Indianapolis Colts front office and coaching staff have been all in on rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson from the moment they made him the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He was quickly named the team's QB1, and along with earning the respect of his coaches, he also seems to have the respect of his veteran teammates.

Head coach Shane Steichen announced on Thursday that Richardson was voted one of the seven team captains for the 2023 season despite having never played in a regular-season NFL game. 

He entered the NFL as one of the most intriguing prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft due to his combination of size (6-foot-4, 245 pounds) and athleticism. He has a big arm, is as fast as any quarterback in the league, and has all of the physical traits you want to see in a franchise quarterback for the modern era. The only knock against him coming out of college was that he had some inconsistencies with his accuracy and had only been a full-time starter for one year.

But his talent is something a team can definitely dream about.

He has also shown a great work ethic and attention to detail that has won over his teammates in camp. 

Said Steichen on Thursday:

"I think it's big," Steichen said about Richardson being named a captain as a rookie. "It just shows what the team has thought about him. There was no favoritism with these guys. It was their votes and they voted him to be one of the top seven captains. I'm excited for him to get that honor. I think that's a big honor as a rookie. To get that just really speaks volumes about what the team thinks about him."

The Colts have been going through a revolving door of short-term, one-year stopgaps at quarterback ever since Andrew Luck retired. None of them have worked out or offered any sort of consistency. The hope is that Richardson can finally solve that problem long-term and give them another quarterback to carry on the franchise tradition set by Peyton Manning and Luck in years past.

As talented as he is and for as much upside as he has, there are still going to be some growing pains in his rookie season. Not only because rookie quarterbacks tend to struggle when given the keys to the offense right away, but also because the Colts' offense is short on playmakers around him and is unlikely to have superstar running back Jonathan Taylor anytime soon. 

Regardless of how he does early on, it is clear the Colts' coaches and players have full trust in him.