Who Should I Start? Anthony Richardson Sr. or Cameron Ward

Wednesday, December 24, 11:45 AM

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said on Wednesday that quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. (eye) will not be activated off Injured Reserve for the team's Week 17 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 23-year-old suffered an orbital fracture in pre-game warmups that has had him on Injured Reserve since mid-October. Richardson Sr. opened the season as the backup quarterback in Indianapolis behind Daniel Jones (Achilles), who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in Week 14. With both Jones and Richardson Sr. unavailable, the Colts brought 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers out of retirement in a last-ditch effort to save their season. Rivers has completed 66.1% of his pass attempts for 397 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions across two starts and appears to be in line to make his third start in Week 17. It's unclear whether Richardson Sr. will return this season or whether he would take the starting job away from Rivers once activated.

Tuesday, December 30, 4:12 PM

Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cameron Ward, the first overall pick back in April, has completed 59.6% of his passes for 3,117 yards, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in his first year in the NFL. He's added 148 rushing yards and a score while also fumbling a league-high 11 times (losing seven). Ward's 79.8 passer rating ranks 26th out of 27 qualifying QBs. He's been sacked 55 times, tied for the most in the NFL. The 23-year-old came into the NFL with a sharp learning curve after spending most of his college career in an Air Raid system. Ward has made some wow plays with his strong arm, but "there are some around the NFL who are concerned his accuracy will have a ceiling if he doesn't refine his mechanics," according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe. Ward's scrambling ability can help him compensate for some of it, but in the long term, he could be inconsistent if he doesn't clean up his mechanics.