For the 2023 Colts, it's not about wins and losses; it's about Anthony Richardson

There's no way to know just yet when the rookie QB will see the field in his rookie year. But he'll play -- eventually. And all anybody wants to see is growth.

WESTFIELD – This may sound odd in the hopeful hours leading up to the Colts’ first training-camp practice at Grand Park Wednesday, but this is going to be one of those seasons when wins and losses won’t much matter.

Sure, it means the world to the men who populate the Colts locker room; you don’t put your mind and body on the line to win participation trophies and collect a paycheck. But let’s be brutally honest about this upcoming season: The only thing that matters is getting rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson on the field (eventually) and preparing him for what everyone in this town prays will be a long and fruitful career.

How many games will they win?

Not a whole lot more than they won last year in a 4-12-1 clown show of a season that included owner-mandated quarterback changes and the hiring of (argh) Jeff Saturday. (Note to Jim Irsay: Stay out of the way this season. Thank you, The Management).

What’s reasonable? Maybe five victories, maybe six. Anything beyond that, shoot, I’d have to call that a wildly surprising and successful season.

Players don’t like to think of this as a rebuilding season, but when you enter the season with a rookie quarterback who has just 13 games of college experience, an untested secondary, a questionable wide-receiving corps (save for Michael Pittman, Jr.) and the same offensive line that gave up 60 sacks last season, it’s a leap of faith to suggest they’re going to climb out of the nether regions of the AFC South. Jacksonville is the returning champ, Tennessee is always solid and Houston, with the first and second picks, loaded up in the draft.

This is ALL about Anthony Richardson.

“He’ll play when he’s ready,” general manager Chris Ballard said.

At this point, we don’t know (and the Colts don’t know) when Richardson will be ready to take the field. Opening day? Highly unlikely. But he’ll get out there at some point. He’s done his due diligence this off-season, having hooked up with several of his team’s receivers down in Miami for three days of throwing and fellowship. We have to remember, though: He lacks experience. He completed just 53.8 percent of his passes. It’s a pretty thin resume. Unless new head coach Shane Steichen has a magic wand, it’s nearly impossible to imagine Richardson being ready before, say, Week 6, or even later.

Repeat after me: PLAY HIM WHEN HE’S READY.

When that might be, nobody yet knows.

We saw it during minicamp and OTAs: One minute, Richardson would be lofting beautiful passes that make a coach salivate at the possibilities. Next minute, he was overthrowing wide-open receivers, missing those “layups” the way the Carson Wentz once did during his one, unhappy season in Indianapolis.

Get used to it, and understand, this is the way it’s going to be for a while – maybe longer than anybody hopes.

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So…what did we learn on reporting day?

We learned that Jonathan Taylor, who is hoping for a contract extension sooner rather than later, showed up at camp.

(We have a massive update: Taylor was just placed on the PUP list moments ago. I’ll have more on this tomorrow. Anyway..)

There was some small question whether he might hold out, especially after he made it abundantly clear he’s ready for the Colts to take care of him the way they did Ryan Kelly, Braden Smith, Quenton Nelson and Shaq Leonard. But come Wednesday, he will be on the field here at Grand Park.

Just don’t expect the Colts to jump at an extension, even after the Giants’ Saquon Barkley got paid Tuesday.

“The market is what the market is, but saying that…you pay good players,” Ballard said. “You pay guys that are going to help you win, regardless of the position. We think very highly of Jonathan. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the great season as a team and he’s coming off the injury, but he’s a great player, a great person. I think that’ll play out over time and work out the way it should. Either way.”

Either way.

We learned that Kenny Moore II has showed up with a far better attitude than the one he had last year, when he groused about his contract situation, then found himself not quite fitting into defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s scheme.

He was forthright when the subject was broached.

“Attitude, mentality, I think I let myself down,” Moore said. “I didn’t really respond the way I want to, just individually. My personality wasn’t there.”

He continued, “It was just a combination of things where I didn’t feel at home. A lot of conversations, took place, a lot of stuff. I had to dig down deep…I think I’m over whatever took place and however it took place. I think we’re all on the same page.”

The Colts will need the old Moore to return to form. This offseason, they traded away Stephon Gilmore, let Brandon Facyson walk and cut Isaiah Rodgers Jr. when he was suspended for gambling on football.

We learned that Ballard believes his offensive line, which was terrible the first part of the year and slightly better late in the season, will rebound after an embarrassingly sub-standard season. This is the highest-paid offensive line in the league, and one year ago, they were not besieged by major injuries, so there was no excuse for their gruesome performance. The Colts are counting on the O-linemen to get their groove back, with aid from new offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. and Steichen’s new scheme.

“They struggled early,” Ballard said. “One thing that gets overlooked is the last half of the season, they played good football. As a united, we’ll get better play out of all of them. We were running the ball really well at the end of the year. We have good pieces.”

We learned that Leonard, a game-changer when he’s healthy, is making good progress after two surgeries to relieve nerve pressure in his left leg and will be on the field when practice gets underway. He passed the physical this week.

It will be some time before he takes part in full 11-on-11 drills and the like; he will mostly be off to the side, doing individual drills and building up his fitness, but the fact that he’ll be around – and not just playing cheerleader, as he did most of last season – is extraordinarily good news. A healthy Leonard makes a massive difference.

“We’ve got a progression in play here,” Ballard said. “…Slowly but surely, we’ll get there. He’s worked extremely hard. There no timeline on exactly when he’ll be cleared for contact, but it’s good to get him back.”

This is not the year to be talking playoffs, and it was hard not to notice, but the word wasn’t uttered by a single player who spoke to the media on reporting day. This isn’t about playing football in mid-January. This is about Anthony Richardson, and getting a peak at his ample promise. It’s not about what he is; it’s about what he can someday be.