Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed Wednesday that rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder.
Irsay told ESPN earlier this week that the team was leaning in that direction with the 2023 No. 4 overall pick, who suffered a Grade 3 sprain of his AC joint in Indianapolis' 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 8.
"After consultation with our medical staff, Anthony, and those close to him, it has been determined that he will undergo surgery to repair his injured shoulder, which will end his season," Irsay wrote on the social media platform X. "Anthony is a competitor, and we know how difficult and disappointing this is for him and our team."
Richardson had been placed on injured reserve last week, and the Colts were mulling whether to have him rehab the shoulder without surgery for a chance to return within four-to-eight weeks.
"We collected several medical opinions and we felt this was the best course of action for his long-term health," Irsay said. "We anticipate a full recovery and there is no doubt Anthony has a promising future.
"In the meantime, I love the fight of this team and I'm excited for the opportunity we have ahead of us."
Veteran Gardner Minshew will start at quarterback for the remainder of the season for Indianapolis, which currently sits one game back of the first-place Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South with a 3-3 record.
Minshew led the Colts to a 22-19 overtime win at Baltimore in Week 3 with Richardson then sidelined with a concussion, but threw three interceptions in last week's 37-20 loss to the Jaguars.
The fifth-year pro has completed 65.2 per cent of his passes for 882 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions this season.
Richardson went 2-2 in his first four NFL starts while flashing the promise the Colts envisioned for the 21-year-old. He threw for 577 yards with three touchdowns and just one interception while adding another dimension to the offence with his scrambling ability. Richardson rushed for four touchdowns in his first three games and compiled 136 yards on 25 total attempts.
The former University of Florida standout has also had a proclivity for injuries during his brief time in the NFL, however.
Richardson bruised his knee near the end of his NFL debut and was forced out of the Colts' Week 2 win over the Houston Texans after being concussed on a scrambling play. After missing one game while in the league protocol, he injured his shoulder in his second game back when tackled on a short run late in the first half against Tennessee.
Ravens stop Bengals on late 2-point try, hold on for 35-34 victory
Lamar Jackson threw for three fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Baltimore Ravens denied Cincinnati on a 2-point conversion with 38 seconds remaining to hold off the Bengals 35-34 on Thursday night.
The Ravens (7-3) rallied from a 21-7 third-quarter deficit, overcoming a huge game from Cincinnati receiver Ja'Marr Chase. He finished with 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns, including a 5-yarder in the final minute to bring the Bengals (4-6) within one. Cincinnati - which lost to Baltimore in overtime last month - decided to go for 2 and the lead, and Joe Burrow's pass for Tanner Hudson sailed high.
Cincinnati had a chance to take control when it was up 14 with the ball in the third, but a fumble by Chase Brown gave the Ravens a short field, and a nifty scramble along the sideline by Jackson set up Derrick Henry’s 1-yard touchdown run.
In the fourth, Tylan Wallace turned a short pass into an 84-yard TD, barely staying inbounds as a couple of Cincinnati defenders failed to stop him. Justin Tucker missed the extra point, but the Ravens were within one.
Cincinnati drove into Baltimore territory, but on both third-and-2 and fourth-and-2, Burrow threw incomplete deep. Jackson gave the Ravens the lead with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews, and then the two-time MVP-winning quarterback ran himself for a 2-point conversion.
Baltimore had 231 of its 389 total yards in the fourth quarter. Jackson threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns and Burrow passed for 428 yards and four TDs.
Christian McCaffrey to make season debut for 49ers
San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey will finally make his season debut.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Thursday that McCaffrey is expected to play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after missing the first eight games of the season.
Last season’s Offensive Player of the Year has been on injured reserve since the start of the season with what was initially called a calf injury. The injury was later revealed to be Achilles tendonitis in both legs, and McCaffrey met with specialists in Germany in late September.
McCaffrey returned to football activities while the 49ers were on a Week 9 bye and has resumed normal practice this week.
“He's been awesome these last two days,” Shanahan said on a San Francisco radio station on Thursday. “You never know [about] a setback or anything, but these two days have been great, and I expect to see him out there.”
McCaffrey’s return, barring a setback, comes at a key time for 4-4 San Francisco and has apparently boosted team morale.
“It's been awesome,” quarterback Brock Purdy told reporters. “Just what he brings to the table and really just firing everybody else up around. All of us coming off the bye week and feeling good and fresh and then you get 2-3 next to you in the backfield, it's been awesome.
“Looks great moving around and he's trending in the right direction. So, we're excited to see what happens.”
Jordan Mason was off to a tremendous start this season while filling in for McCaffrey and is third in the NFL in rushing yards.
Mason, however, has been limited in recent weeks due to an ongoing shoulder injury, leaving rookie Isaac Guerendo to take on a larger role.
Shanahan also indicated that wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings also benefited from the bye week and are on track to return against the Buccaneers.
Browns GM Berry refuses to make Watson commitment
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has refused to confirm whether Deshaun Watson will remain the franchise's starting quarterback when he returns from his Achilles injury.
Watson endured a dismal start to the 2024 season as the Browns went 1-5 before he suffered the season-ending injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.
They failed to score 20 points in any of their seven games with Watson starting but did so at the first time of asking without him, beating the Baltimore Ravens 29-24 with Jameis Winston standing in at quarterback two weeks ago.
Watson's relationship with the Browns' fanbase had already become strained after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour in massage sessions.
He served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season – his first campaign with the team after being handed a five-year, $230million contract following his trade from the Houston Texans.
"Really our focus with Deshaun, I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury, is first and foremost and to make sure that he gets healthy," Berry said on Wednesday.
"Everything else, we'll deal with at a later moment."
Berry added, however, that the team's issues were not all of Watson's making.
"We haven't played well as a team and we haven't played well as a unit on offense," Berry said.
"I think oftentimes when you don't play well on offense, obviously your starting quarterback and your play caller will get the most criticism.
"But the reality of it is, offenses, it comes down to organization and synchronization. There's a lot of shared ownership across the different groups in terms of why we didn't perform."
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