Colts coach Andrew Luck made the decision to cut short his injury-plagued career, leading to the early departure of a highly-promising quarterback drafted by the Colts. What they don’t want is Anthony Richardson going down the same path.
So when Colts general manager Chris Ballard said, pleased with Richardson’s progress Ballard, who learned a tough lesson from Luck following his season-ending shoulder injury last year, also said the Colts will be careful with Richardson. Here’s how the Colts’ website transcribed Ballard’s comments about Richardson’s rehabilitation at the scouting combine.
“I’m really happy with where he is right now,” Ballard said. “He started pitching and is going through a rehab program. I lived through the last era and learned a lot of lessons living through this era. the last one [with Andrew Luck].So please allow me to be a little cautious.
“…We’re here to take the reins so we don’t go too far ahead of schedule and we’re going to follow what the doctors say. But he’s feeling good, he’s pitching, he’s pitching well. We’ve got a program, we’ve got a good staff working with him. I’m encouraged about where he is and where he’s going, and we’ll go from there.”
The parenthetical “with Andrew Luck” was added by Colts.com, not something Ballard said directly, but it’s clear Ballard was referring to it. When Ballard took over as Colts general manager in 2017, Luck missed the entire season with a shoulder injury. And Ballard was there in 2019, when Luck suddenly retired during the preseason due to injuries. Ballard knows what he can do for a team when the franchise quarterback can’t get and stay healthy.
Ballard therefore wants to avoid history repeating itself with Richardson, and the Colts will likely be more cautious with Richardson’s injury than they were with Luck.
