Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson has been navigating back spasms over the last two weeks, an injury that kept him sidelined last Sunday versus the Giants.
When speaking with reporters recently, Richardson detailed the injury and what he’s been working through in an effort to get back on the football field.
So, what about this week? Will Richardson be available for the Colts’ season finale?
Will Anthony Richardson play on Sunday?
After playing all of the offensive snaps against Tennessee in Week 16, these back spasms flared up and kept Richardson out of practice all last week, resulting in him missing the Colts’ Week 17 game against New York.
“Last week was tough,” said Richardson on Wednesday. “I couldn’t even stand up on Tuesday, I could barely even walk, was crawling around the house, but I’m standing now. If I can do everything in my power to get on the field, I’m going to do so. That was my plan last week, as well, but I could barely move.”
While early this past week, Shane Steichen was hopeful that Richardson could return, that never came to fruition. Richardson again missed all three practices this week and was ruled out of today’s matchup against Jacksonville.
Colts QB depth chart
Without Richardson, Joe Flacco will get the start and close out the season for the Colts. Flacco also started for Indianapolis in Week 5–the last time the Colts faced the Jaguars–when Richardson was out with an oblique injury.
In that game, which was a 37-34 loss, the Colts’ offense put up 34 points, with Flacco putting together a very good performance, completing 33-of-44 passes for 359 yards with three interceptions and no interceptions.
One big difference this time around is that the Colts will have Jonathan Taylor, who also missed that first Week 5 matchup. However, this could turn into a more pass-heavy game from the Colts as they face a Jaguars’ defense that ranks 12th in yards per rush but 32nd in yards per pass attempt allowed.
