Anthony Richardson’s age is 24, but the Colts’ preseason is built for decisions

The Indianapolis Colts are approaching the preseason with a quarterback picture that, by NFL standards, is still fluid. According to a Yahoo Sports report, Anthony Richardson Sr., who turned 24 in May, is tied for second on the Colts’ depth chart. That positioning sets up a preseason period where the margin for error is small and the meaning of “progress” gets measured in weekly practice performance and game reps.

Richardson’s age is an obvious talking point, but the competitive issue is more practical. The report frames his situation as critical, emphasizing that even though he is still in the early stage of his career, the calendar is now demanding clarity about who is trusted in the next wave of snaps behind the presumed top option.

In preseason football, “depth chart position” is not only about a starter versus backup label. It is also a referendum on how a quarterback fits a game plan under time constraints: reads at full speed, decision-making in limited series, and the ability to manage protection and tempo without erasing the running game or the passing rhythm.

For the Colts, the quarterback room carries a built-in pressure. Teams do not spend early draft resources merely to park a young report-caller on the roster and wait. They evaluate whether a player’s skill set translates from training camp work into coherent execution when everything is accelerated, defenses are less scripted, and timing windows tighten.

Richardson’s specific preseason challenge, as described by Yahoo Sports, is tied to the fact that he is not clearly entrenched as the obvious second option. Being listed “tied for second” indicates a shared opportunity with at least one other quarterback in the same tier. That makes each rep more consequential, because a quarterback who separates early can quickly become the player coaches want handling the majority of the third-team and late-game situations.

The broader implication is that the Colts’ preseason will function as a sorting process for quarterback reliability. Even without discussing any specific injury or personnel move, the reality of the preseason is that coaching staffs typically use it to answer the same questions: Who gives the offense the best chance to function when the unit is not at full strength? Who can protect the ball when the game plan is condensed? Who can create manageable offense when the pocket is under pressure?

Richardson’s age means the team will still be weighing the developmental arc, but the situation described in the report suggests that development alone may not be enough. In the NFL, a young quarterback can become “available” for a larger role only if he wins enough of these micro-battles early, not just over a long training-camp runway.

What to watch next is straightforward: how the Colts distribute reps among the quarterbacks who sit behind the presumed starter, and whether Richardson shows consistent command during live-game conditions. If he does enough to stand out from the tie for second, the preseason will have done its job. If he cannot, the competition will likely expand into more than just one week of evaluations, making the next round of decisions even sharper.