AnthonyRichardson Sr.

News: 7 hours agoRichardson won't play in Saturday's preseason finale against the Bengals, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

Spin: Coach Shane Steichen noted Thursday that he doesn't want to risk anything with Richardson in the team's exhibition finale, with an eye toward keeping the QB healthy and available in the event that starter Daniel Jones misses any time down the road. As for Saturday's contest, Mike Chappell of Fox 59 News Indianapolis notes that Riley Leonard and Jason Bean are each slated to play a half.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Richardson enters his third NFL season as a backup behind Daniel Jones. On one hand, the 2023 No. 4 overall pick has a ton of upside; he ranked no lower than sixth among QBs in carries, rush yards and rush TDs last season despite playing only 10 full games, while also pacing the position in average depth of throw and yards per completion. That led to four games with 20-plus fantasy points. On the other hand, Richardson's poor passing may land him on the bench. He had fewer than 15 fantasy points in his other six outings, threw 12 INTs on the season (fourth most) and his 48% completion percentage ranked last. In total, he averaged 15.8 fantasy PPG in the 10 games, which would've ranked 15th over the full season. Richardson's elite rushing ability and aggressive passing style will put him on the weekly QB1 radar when he's in the lineup, but we may not see that for quite a while. He doesn't need to be drafted.