INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. will return to practice Thursday, two months after a scary pregame incident endangered his right eye and left him with a fractured orbital bone.
The Colts are not committing to Richardson returning to the field this season, with coach Shane Steichen saying they want to first evaluate him given the injury's impact on his vision.
"He still has some vision limitations in his [right] eye," Steichen said. "So, we're going to get him back on the practice field, get him throwing, doing some scout-team reps. It's just something that's he's going to have to manage through the process."
For his part, Richardson acknowledged some vision issues but said things are mostly back to normal.
"There's not really major limitations," he said. "It's just a little different because of the impact in my eye, but most of it's really the same. I was still able to move around the same and do everything I needed to do. So that's not that bad."
He added, "It's improved a lot, actually. When it first happened, it was just a lot of swelling and everything. Couldn't see much. But after two or three weeks from the surgery, everything healed up nice."
As for the starting quarterback for the time being, that remains Philip Rivers. The veteran quarterback came out of retirement at 44 last week, after five seasons away from the game, to fill in at quarterback in the aftermath of Daniel Jones' season-ending Achilles injury.
Steichen on Thursday said, "Right now, Philip's our starting quarterback."
The Colts host the San Francisco 49ers on "Monday Night Football" to end Week 16.
The next steps for Richardson involve the Colts monitoring his progress in practice. Steichen said he would not be active for Monday's game.
For Richardson, the moment was a long time coming. He was initially prohibited from doing any strenuous physical activity after the injury because the bone needed time to heal.
"I need to be back on the field," he said. "I love playing football. I've been doing it since I was 2. And it's just something I love doing. I just love being here with my teammates. And, originally, they told me I was going to have to wait until after the season to see how my eye healed up. And, luckily, I got clear this month and I just thank God for it.
"I'm ready to practice."
