Anthony Richardson was inactive for the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 6 game against the Arizona Cardinals after he suffered an injury in pregame warmups.
Richardson was the primary backup for the Colts through the first five weeks of the season after being beaten out by Daniel Jones for the starting job. He was a surprise inactive on Sunday, with Riley Leonard serving as the No. 2 behind Jones.
There were initially reports that Richardson was a healthy scratch, but the former No. 4 overall pick actually suffered an injury prior to kickoff. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network says Richardson hurt his eye doing band work.
Anthony Richardson suffered an eye injury doing pregame band work. That's why he's the No. 3 today. https://t.co/adVNbKB5dj
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 12, 2025
Jones has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 season and is unlikely to lose his starting job to anything other than an injury. He led the Colts to a 4-1 record entering Sunday’s game and was third in the NFL with 1,290 passing yards. Jones accounted for 9 total touchdowns and had just 2 interceptions through the first five games of the season.
Richardson has 11 touchdown passes compared to 13 interceptions in 15 career games and has struggled to stay healthy.
Richardson is still just 23, and there was talk prior to the season that he could be traded. His future with the Colts remains uncertain, but any speculation that he was demoted on Sunday was premature.
