It’s understandable, players get tired and sometimes have to play-off to regain their breath after a long run. But late in the third quarter, with a touchdown on the way to the Texans’ 23-yard line and trailing by ten points, that wasn’t possible. It’s an eyebrow-raising comment from the team’s alleged quarterback.

The Colts settled for three points on this drive, and a touchdown in this scenario could have been the difference between winning and losing. It doesn’t matter that Richardson just finished running a marathon, he needs to be involved at that point in the game and that was his responsibility.

This is an indictment on Richardson’s competitiveness as a football player and his desire to win. Colts owner Jim Irsay and the rest of the organization will not tolerate a lack of effort or hunger to be on the field to make plays beyond sub-par quarterback play.

Even former Colts punter and viral sports media personality Pat Mcafee weighed in on Richardson’s decision to remove himself from the game.

Mcafee would later backtrack and say that Richardson would return for the next series and lead the Colts on the touchdown drive. Regardless, he and many other Colts fans were less than pleased to hear that Richardson wouldn’t be able to perform in a big moment due to fatigue.

Richardson basically has a hard time doing anything productive because his performance, both physically and mentally, is abysmal. Several mental mistakes plagued him on Sunday, including taking a sack on the final play instead of throwing the ball deep and giving his receivers a full chance.

Ask Washington Commanders and Jayden Daniels what to do in this situation after what they were able to do yesterday.

His tackling ability is better than many quarterbacks in the NFL, but his decision to step out of bounds or slide cost the Colts a chance at victory and Richardson’s health.

The second-year quarterback ranks second in the NFL in interceptions (7) and has been wildly inaccurate throughout the season. He has had many injuries in his young career, but the learning curve and adjustments need to happen sooner rather than later if he is to continue in this league.

He is very interested in the deep ball and forces the big play very often. According to Pro Football Focus, Richardson attempted 11 passes of 20 yards or more, while only completing 10 passes of 10 yards or less. A big reason why he completed just 10 of 32 passes in the loss.

The Colts luckily have a .500 record, mostly because veteran Joe Flacco has won two of the three games he’s played. This is a team that has the talent to capture the AFC Wild Card and that situation is looking less likely. The week Richardson commanded the offense.

Facing forward, a horseshoe-sized question mark appears above Richardson’s head and His future in Indianapolis. If his play continues on this path, he won’t be able to survive his four-year contract on the Colts’ roster.

It will be interesting to see how he approaches negative situations moving forward and whether he puts on his helmet and goes out, or whether he stays in the game and works through the series. It will say a lot about his future in the NFL.

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