“Obviously, he’s not taking the reps, but he’s taking the mental reps in the classroom with us, still going through the game plan meetings,” Steichen said, according to Colts.com’s Raven Moore. “So, even when he’s on the sidelines during games, [he’s] taking that mental rep on the sidelines, hearing the calls. I think going through that will be big through the first part of the process.”

While it was possible that Richardson could have come back this season, Indianapolis’ general manager Chris Ballard and the rest of the organization decided that it’d be in the best interest of the player to undergo surgery.

And although it is probably the best decision for Richardson in the long run, it ended what had been an impressive rookie campaign prior to the injury.

In four games, Richardson amassed a 2-2 record while throwing for 577 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 136 yards and four more scores.

“All the notions of raw, needed work — he exceeded my expectations in terms of, now we saw the poise in college, but the accuracy, his instincts, his ability to create. I think all that was on full display,” Ballard said. “There’s no doubt things he has to work on, protecting himself being one.

“He’ll learn that — I think all young quarterbacks have to learn that, that you don’t have to take the unnecessary shots in this league that you don’t have to take. It’s okay to slide, it’s okay to step out of bounds. I think those are things he’ll learn as he plays. But really encouraged about the small glimpse we got of him.”