Sunday brought another roller coaster ride for second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson with the Indianapolis Colts.

When he played against the Houston Texans in the battle for the lead in the AFC South, Richardson was completely inaccurate even by his standards, at times completing two of 15 passes. One of those completions was a long touchdown pass to Josh Downs, further cementing Richardson’s developing reputation as one of the most extreme boom-or-bust players to ever take the field.

In the second half, Richardson had the Colts’ offense in scoring position with a 10-point deficit. On second-and-goal, he was knocked down at the line of scrimmage and appeared to be injured, so he was subbed out for third-and-goal at the Texans’ 23-yard line. The former Florida Gators star had already battled numerous injuries in his young career, leaving audiences to assume he had suffered another blow. Richardson has already missed two games this season due to an oblique injury.

That wasn’t the case. As Richardson knelt and watched his team try to score a touchdown, the CBS broadcast revealed that the Colts said Richardson subbed himself out because he was “out of breath” and for no other reason. This didn’t sit well with many fans, particularly former Colt Pat McAfee, who called out the second-year quarterback on X.

“Until I saw Anthony Richardson, I had never seen an NFL QB retire while still healthy,” McAfee wrote. “The QB is your franchise. The message he sends is loud and influential.”

After Richardson returned to the field and later led the Colts on a touchdown drive, McAfee followed up.

He’s not wrong. We see many types of players, like defensive linemen and wide receivers, constantly substitutions to catch their breath. We never See how it happens to quarterbacks. They’re just too important and don’t typically run dozens of yards at a time to be swapped out just to get some air. Apparently not Richardson.

A very strange sequence for the young quarterback.