By ANDREW CHERNOFF
WISH-TV | wish-tv.com
WESTFIELD – The Indianapolis Colts held their first practice of training camp on Wednesday morning.
The practiced marked the beginning of a new era for the Colts, as the team’s “quarterback of the future,” Anthony Richardson, hit the field for the first time in front of the fans.
“I was definitely excited because the coaches, they do a great job of preparing us,” Richardson said. “We got to do a great job of preparing ourselves. The QB room, they are going to continue to push me to be better. I was definitely excited to just come out here and showcase what I am able to do.”
Colts head coach Shane Steichen said it was solid start at training camp for the rookie quarterback.
“I thought he did a nice job,” Steichen said. “I think what he did in the spring, learning the system and then carrying it over to today, I thought he made some good plays. Obviously, we were down there in the tight red zone so we didn’t have deep balls or anything, but making the right decisions, making the right reads – he did a nice job.”
One of the biggest things Richardson is having to adjust to is the pace of practices in the NFL, like the one-hour practice the Colts had on Wednesday.
“It’s definitely fast, it’s keeping me in shape for sure,” Richardson said. “My first practice, I’m like, ‘Wow, this is definitely a fast pace.’ Cramming all that within an hour, it definitely gets things rolling. You’ve got to be on point so details definitely matter.”
A big question many Colts fans are asking is: “Which quarterback will be the starter come week one of the regular season?”
On Wednesday, it was quarterback Gardner Minshew who took first-team reps, although Steichen said that the quarterbacks would all get reps playing with the first-team.
“For me competitiveness isn’t wanting him to be bad so I can be good,” Minshew said. “I want him to be great, so I have to be even better. That’s how I think you have to see it. I don’t want an easy competition. I want it as hard as possible, and I want him to be so freaking good that I have to bring my level that much higher. I think we are all going to keep pushing each other, but at the end of the day we are all just trying to win.”
The Colts will have another training camp practice Friday morning at Grand Park.