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Anthony Richardson has been plagued by injuries over the first two seasons of his NFL career, and he suffered yet another setback thanks to the back spasms that sidelined him when the Colts faced off against the Giants. It appears he’s on track to return to close out the season, but it’s hard not to be concerned about his future based on what he had to say about his most recent complication.
The Indianapolis Colts were hoping they’d found their next franchise quarterback when they scooped up Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, but it’s still unclear if he has what it takes to return the franchise to its former glory.
Richardson has missed more than half of the games he could have suited up for since kicking off his rookie season thanks in no small part to the slew of injuries he’s had to grapple with.
He suffered a concussion during his inaugural campaign before succumbing to a season-ending shoulder injury shortly after returning, and while he was healthy heading into 2024, he missed a couple of games with an oblique strain and was scratched ahead of Indy’s showdown with the Giants in Week 17 due to back spasms that led to Joe Flacco starting in the 45-33 loss that eliminated the Colts from playoff contention.
It sounds like there’s a solid chance Richardson will be good to go when the Colts cap off the season against the Jaguars on Sunday, but he shared a fairly troubling update about the back issue that forced him to “crawl around the house” while addressing the results of an MRI that detected the source of the trouble,
#Colts QB Anthony Richardson said he “couldn’t even stand up” last week due to severe back spasms.
He said he’s had back issues since eighth grade and got an MRI that revealed a “disc thing.”
He said his back issues “might be chronic,” but he doesn’t think he’ll need surgery. pic.twitter.com/Wf6zN6x4ux
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) January 1, 2025
Richardson stressed he doesn’t think surgery will be needed to address the “disc thing” that has apparently been a problem since he was in middle school, saying:
“It might be chronic, but there’s plenty of ways to prevent it going on in the future. Now that I know what it is, I can find certain ways to stay out of a certain position, just make sure I’m healthy.”
“I’ve been dealing with stuff like this since about eighth grade, but it’s never been this severe. It was definitely a little scary last week, not being able to move. But, like I said, I’m standing up now and I’m looking forward to playing this week if I can.”
While the QB doesn’t seem too concerned, I think it’s fair for fans to be worried about the impact this could have on Richardson based on how injury-prone he’s been over the course of his first two seasons in the NFL.