Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly has seen just about everything in his nine seasons in the NFL. But watching quarterback Anthony Richardson take a break from the game to simply catch his breath during the Colts’ 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday was something new.

“We had a conversation about it. I think he knows it’s not the standard he has to live up to and the rest of the team thinks it’s appropriate,” Kelly told reporters on Monday. “I’ll leave the conversation we had at that.

“I’m sure he’ll have to take criticism for that. Rightly so – it looks tough. But he’s out there giving everything for his team. That’s not always nice. I don’t think that’s the case. If you look at his film, we certainly didn’t move the ball effectively at times. But he gives everything for his teammates.

Richardson signaled to the Colts sideline that he needed a replacement after running around in vain on a second-and-goal from the Texans’ 23-yard line. On third down, with Richardson catching his breath on the sideline, Indianapolis handed the ball to running back Jonathan Taylor and settled for a field goal.

Richardson addressed his strange decision after the Colts’ loss.

“Tired, I’m not going to lie,” Richardson said Sunday. “That was exactly where I ran a lot. So I just told (Colts coach) Shane (Steichen) I needed a break right there.”

Richardson didn’t exactly wow with his play on the field, as he threw for 175 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 10 of 32 passes against the Texans. Colts coach Shane Steichen has not committed to allowing Richardson to start under center on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

“He’s young,” Kelly said. “It’s definitely a learning moment for him, and I’ll leave it at that.”