The problem with the modern NFL is the hits keep comin', and they are not love taps. They are like blows with a sledghammer, or maybe an 18-wheeler hauling ass down a two-mile grade.
Thus, guys get hurt.
Thus, Anthony Richardson got hurt yesterday, in just second NFL start, while scoring his second touchdown of the day in what would ultimately be a 31-20 victory for the Indianapolis Colts over the sorry Houston Texans.
He went off after being concussed on a 15-yard sprint to the house barely six minutes into the game, his head bouncing off the turf like a Superball. Off he went, on came Gardner Minshew, and now the discussion begins about whether or not Richardson's next-level physical gifts are as much curse as blessing.
There will always be the temptation with him to design packages that make use of his legs as well as his arm, because when a guy is bigger than some linebackers (6-4, 244 pounds) and faster than most, why wouldn't you take advantage of that? Especially when his arm is a powerful scattergun still trying to become something more accurate.
But, again, it's the NFL. The hits are going to keep coming. And guys who occasionally tuck it and run, even if they're really good at it, are going to be the recipient of those hits.
And so, in Week 1, Richardson scuffed up a knee and an ankle.
And in Week 2, he suffered a concussion.
And, yeah, he ran for 35 yards and two touchdowns in three carries before he left the game, giving the Colts a 14-0 head start. The good with the bad, you might say.
How much the latter outweighs the former will define the season for the Horseshoes. Call it inevitable.
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