The Indianapolis Colts are opening the 21-day practice window for quarterback Anthony Richardson, who has been out two months with an eye injury.
Coach Shane Steichen said Thursday that Richardson still has some vision problems stemming from an orbital fracture he suffered during pregame warmups on Oct. 12.
“As I mentioned last week, Anthony returned for physical activity, but he still has some vision limitation in his eye,” Steichen said, per NFL Network. “So we’re gonna get him back on the practice field, get him throwing, doing some scout team reps. It’s just something that he’ll have to manage through the process.”
It is unclear whether Richardson, 23, will be activated to play during the final three games of the regular season for the Colts (8-6), who are staring at matchups against three teams currently occupying a playoff spot: the San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.
The injury occurred when a pole that Richardson had wrapped an elastic stretch band around snapped and hit him in the face during a warmup stretch routine, according to multiple media reports.
This left Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, with severe swelling that led to temporary vision impairment.
Richardson has been on IR since suffering the freak injury, which required surgery. Following Daniel Jones’ season-ending torn Achilles, the Colts brought Philip Rivers, 44, out of retirement and have rookie Riley Leonard as his backup.
When the season started, Richardson was the backup to Jones, and the Colts moved to 7-1 with their 38-14 win over the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 26. They are 1-5 since and have just a 12% chance of making the playoffs.
Richardson battled through injuries to start 15 games over his first two seasons with the Colts. He has 2,400 career passing yards with 11 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 634 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs over 17 games.
