Anthony Richardson's turnovers in preseason opener raise more questions about his Colts future

If you're just looking at Anthony Richardson's statistics from the first half of Thursday's preseason opener for the Indianapolis Colts , remember this truth: Stats lie.

The stats from the first half of this game when the quarterback played speak to a solid outing.

He completed 11 of 14 passes.

That's good.

His quarterback rating was a respectable 80.1.

And Richardson led the Colts on a second-quarter TD drive.

COLTS DECLINE ANTHONY RICHARDSON'S FIFTH-YEAR OPTION, SETTING FORMER NO.

4 OVERALL PICK UP FOR FREE AGENCY But those stats that suggest this was acceptable for a first game of 2026 lie.

Because Richardson threw an interception on his third pass of the game.

And he fumbled in the second quarter.

And those turnovers are what will glow in neon when coach Shane Steichen studies the game tape on Sunday, regardless of what he might tell reporters before or afterward.

So, the grand Anthony Richardson experiment that was supposed to deliver a franchise quarterback certainly by the start of his fourth NFL season isn't going as scripted.

The experiment instead caught fire Thursday evening and blew up the lab.

And what does this all mean? This ain't it.