The Indianapolis Colts, specifically head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard, must think they are on the verge of giving away nuclear weapons secrets sometimes. Instead of giving a real answer, they get curt and churlish. It's annoying.
This is the case with Steichen's answer about the status of quarterback Anthony Richardson while the coach was speaking with the media on Friday. He might as well have sounded like an adult from a Charlie Brown special.
"He’s back in the fold right now," Steichen said in a video posted by James Boyd of The Athletic. "That part’s been good. He’s working, going through his fundamentals, details, out there throwing with the guys...He's here, gonna get reps just like (Riley Leonard) will get reps. We're in Phase 2 right now, we're throwing routes on air, doing walk-through stuff."
Indianapolis Colts' Shane Steichen drops non-answers about Anthony Richardson
As far as Richardson's vision being fully back from a broken orbital bone suffered in Week 6 pre-game warm-ups, Steichen said, "No, he's been good. I mean, he's been here for four days, but we're just throwing right now (and) not doing team stuff."
The head coach continued to say that Richardson was just "working through stuff," and wouldn't say who is QB2 or QB3 on the depth chart. Again, he doesn't have to tell the media anything, but the Colts must send team memos as reminders not to give out too much information.
The issue is two-fold. One is that maybe Steichen and the coaching staff don't know who will be Daniel Jones' backup, but that is fairly damning to Leonard and gives Richardson a spot he doesn't need. Plus, Jones might not be ready until a few games into the season after recovering from a torn Achilles tendon in Week 14 of last season.
If that is the case, Leonard or Richardson is going to need to start, and that should be Leonard. He was quite good against a fierce Houston Texans defense in Week 18. Arguably, he was better in that game than Richardson has ever been. Leonard is also under contract for three more seasons, and Richardson will be a free agent in 2027.
Unless, of course, he is traded before then. He has asked to be so, though no potential buyers seem to want to give Indianapolis much in return, or no offer has really been made. That doesn't speak highly of a quarterback who will turn 24 years old in May and has great raw ability.
The second part of the issue of Shane Steichen's, and whenever he talks to the media, Chris Ballard's answers that their lack of clarity implies they don't quite understand how to build a winning team. They haven't made the playoffs together, and the Indianapolis Colts haven't made the postseason since 2020.
If a team was a consistent winner and the head coach and GM constantly delivered non-answers, fine. But the media is likely just as aghast as fans are in not getting full answers. Everyone wants to know if the Colts can get to the postseason in 2026, but no one can be quite sure Steichen and Ballard can lead the team there.