Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Anthony Richardson Gets Massive Punishment From NFL.
The Indianapolis Colts are coming off of a tough loss to the Detroit Lions last week, dropping their record to 5-7. Quarterback Anthony Richardson was in the lineup once again but was only to amount to 172 passing yards and no touchdowns. However, the young quarterback was punished by the league for an unnecessary roughness penalty on one of his runs.
Indianapolis Colts QB Punished.
Richardson was fined $22,511 for lowering his head into Lions defensive back Brian Branch on a rushing attempt. The punishment has caused a lot of controversy amongst fans after the video evidence was released to the public.
The league has cracked down on players leading with their helmets to either break or make tackles this season, and this is a prime example of that rule being enforced. Richardson has already dealt with several injuries in his young career for plays like this, but fans think that the fine is too extreme for this particular play.
A lot of fans think that Richardson was just trying to protect the rest of his body from the defender, who also seemed to lead with his helmet on the tackle attempt. However, the players and the league have been calling for more safety precautions with the head, and this is their way of enforcing these rules.
Colts make two potentially key moves at offensive guard—including maybe a starting swap for Sunday?
The Colts were busy making roster moves at offensive guard, signaling a potential contingency replacement plan on the right side for Sunday?
The Indianapolis Colts announced on Saturday that the team has signed offensive guard Atonio Mafi to the 53-man active roster and waived linebacker Liam Anderson in a corresponding roster move.
The team also elevated a pair of veterans: offensive guard Mark Glowinski and wide receiver Laquon Treadwell ahead of Sunday’s road game against the New England Patriots.
In a vacuum, these moves aren’t necessarily all that notable.
However, when taken together, and the fact that replacement starting UDFA rookie Dalton Tucker has struggled considerably as of late at right guard—filling in for the injured Will Fries, and it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Colts made a swap within the first-team offense with either Mafi or Glowinski supplanting Tucker within the starting lineup.
Per PFF, Tucker has recorded overall grades of just +47.5 and +44.4 in back-to-back starts against both the New York Jets and Detroit Lions respectively.
At the very least, Tucker may be given a short leash if he struggles again, as the Colts have two available replacement options with Mafi and Glowinski coming off the bench.
Since Mafi was signed, and not just elevated for Sunday, it appears as though he may have the upper hand as far as potential replacement options for Tucker are concerned.
That being said, with 96 career starts (55 of them with the Colts previously), Glowinski’s proven experience and familiarity with the Indy organization can’t be overlooked either—especially compared to Mafi, who only has a limited 5 career starts under his belt, all with the New England Patriots back in the 2023 regular season.
Treadwell should provide extra veteran wide receiver depth with both Ashton Dulin (ankle) and starting slot Josh Downs (shoulder) already declared out ahead of Sunday’s game.
