INDIANAPOLIS — In just over a month, training camp will begin for the Indianapolis Colts. Football season will be here in the blink of an eye.
First, though, is the first day of mandatory minicamp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on West 56th Street.
For the past month, Colts players and coaches alike have lauded the work ethic of rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.
For the first time since April, Richardson and his quarterback room counterpart Gardner Minshew spoke to the media. The QB "battle" is the main focal point heading into July, but both guys are solely focused on the work.
Minshew echoed his teammates' praise of the rookie, while Richardson is embracing each day he gets the opportunity to work.
"I'm just here so I don't get fined," Richardson joked to begin his press conference. "No, I'm just kidding," he smiled as the room erupted in laughter. Richardson was all smiles as he embarks on his journey of leading an NFL franchise.
He was seemingly light as a feather while carrying heavy expectations as he takes everything in stride.
"It's funny. I remember coming off the first day and [Richardson] was like, 'Man, that's fast'," Minshew recalled. "I told him, 'it's only going to get slower.' He studies hard, he picks it up, he wants to learn, so he's been doing a great job there. He's been improving steadily, and I think he's going to continue."
"It's been everything I dreamed of," Richardson said of donning the Colts uniform since April. "It's been a lot of work, and when I say a lot of work, I mean a lot of work. Just being here with the vets and watching them work. Then just trying to find my own routine within everything, then just trying to grind day in and day out. It's been everything I dreamed of, but it's a lot."
Minshew and Richardson will battle it out for QB1 heading into September, an extremely non-contentious "battle" from both players' purview as they aim to help push each other along the way.
"My performance doesn't really have anything to do with his performance. I can go out there and be great, and it won't affect him. He can go out there and be great, and it won't affect me. I think our whole room is just pushing to be the best that we can be, and in that way serve the team as best as we can," Minshew said.
"The only way we can get better is to push each other," Minshew said. "Having somebody next to you kind of naturally picks that up a little bit. It's been fun. We have a good group, and I look forward to continuing working with him. It's my first time being the older guy, so that's a little different. It's cool to be able to help wherever I can and to see the things that he's picking up. It's exciting, man."
"[Minshew] has been through it. Sam [Ehlinger] has been through it. They just help me stay calm. As a rookie, it's a lot. You will see it as too much. They just help me stay sane. It's all part of the process. We have all been through it. We all want to know everything. It's just a matter of going through those practices where it does seem too fast for me, and I'll make mistakes here and there, but it's OK, and I will fix it in the future," Richardson said. "They help me a lot. It's not only me asking questions to Coach Shane [Steichen], but I can talk to Gardner and Sam. They help simplify it for me. It's definitely helpful and keeps me sane."
Richardson is trying to focus on embracing the work, while not taking the expectations of his position lightly.
"My position and the light that I'm in, I can't do the bare minimum. The team will not allow that. I will not allow that for myself. The GM, coach and owner definitely don't want that for me, so it's just a matter of me putting the work in," Richardson said. "I'm not just doing it for show. I actually want to know this information for the team. I don't want to get thrown out there and I'm lost. I just want to make sure that I'm on point with everything and doing my job the best way that I can."
With those high expectations, so too comes some grace. Richardson is making sure to learn and correct mistakes.
"This game, the margin of error is so small and you're playing against pros. Mistakes, you have to limit them. Nobody is perfect. You're going to make mistakes, but you have to learn from mistakes. I'm constantly trying to get information and trying to learn from mistakes just so I can do my job the best I can for the team," Richardson said. "I just have to remember that I'm a rookie. I want to learn everything, I want to know everything right now, and I tell them, like, 'I want to know everything, but I can't because I haven't seen everything. I haven't even played my first game yet.' It's just a matter of remembering that I'm a rookie."
He's a rookie who knows his time will come as starting quarterback, a title he knows he'll have to earn.
"It's whenever Coach Steichen feels like I'm ready to be out there. When he's confident that I know the stuff, confident I can lead the team, and confident that I can win NFL games," Richardson said. "It's just a matter of him feeling like I'm ready or not and me making strides every day."
The Colts will get together Wednesday and Thursday for mandatory minicamp as well. It will be the final time the team will be together before summer break.
Training camp for the Colts begins in late July.