INDIANAPOLIS — Sam Ehlinger had had enough. He needed to speak his mind.
The Indianapolis Colts veteran sat at his locker on a Friday afternoon while reflecting on his relationship with Anthony Richardson. Each of them has been through their share of tough times as quarterbacks, and Richardson’s two-week benching earlier this season offered them a chance to grow even closer while navigating the most scrutinized position in their sport. But when Ehlinger began discussing how they’ve bonded, specifically their games of P-I-G on the team’s mini basketball hoop in the weight room, he couldn’t help himself.
“I can’t throw ’em down like he can. I wasn’t given that ability, and we’re not really shooting regularly in the gym,” Ehlinger said through a wry smile. “But you might want to go ask him what our record is.”
Ehlinger claimed he didn’t want to put Richardson “on blast.” But as he recalled their duels, he did just that as he got up and jogged over to Richardson, who was shooting on the team’s other mini hoop in the locker room.
“They asked, bro!” Ehlinger said gleefully as he approached Richardson. “When we play P-I-G, who usually wins? And tell the truth!”
All Richardson could do was sheepishly grin as a few of his shots clanged off the mini hoop rim.
“Man, just wait ’til next year!” Richardson said, vowing to improve.
Ehlinger has a way of bringing out the best in Richardson. In fact, that’s become his most important job with the Colts as Richardson tries to close the gap between his potential and his reality.
The quarterbacks’ playful mini-hoop banter occurred two days before Richardson led the Colts on his second game-winning drive in three weeks — the one that saved the Colts’ season — but their relationship had been forged and fortified long before then.
Ehlinger, according to teammates and coaches, has gone out of his way to make Richardson feel supported ever since the Colts drafted him fourth in 2023. In addition to their games of P-I-G on the mini hoop, they work together, going over the playbook and lifting weights together. And on Tuesdays, the players’ off day, they spend even more time together.
“We’re probably in here for like three or four hours, just watching film and talking about the game and certain calls,” Richardson said. “And even just sitting back and just talking and just trying to see how we’re doing mentally.”
Ehlinger’s early investment in building a rapport with Richardson was put to the test when Richardson went through one of the most trying times of his career: a benching that, at the time, the 22-year-old wasn’t sure had an expiration date.
As the NFL world cast judgment on Richardson amid his poor play and “tap out” against Houston, which appeared to be the final straw before his demotion, it was Ehlinger who pulled Richardson closer as outsiders pushed him away. Ehlinger offered his teammate grace, on and off the field, that few others were willing to give considering Richardson’s position with the team.
“I feel like it was needed because sometimes you get so immersed in this football life that you forget we are human, and we do have emotions,” Richardson said. “And sometimes we gotta address those emotions. I feel like my Sam is my person that I get to talk to and just elaborate on how I feel and vice versa.”
Ehlinger said it was easy for him to stand by Richardson, in part, because he could relate to what it’s like to lose the job you’ve always wanted. The circumstances were obviously different, but Ehlinger was thrust into the starting lineup during the Colts’ tumultuous 2022 campaign. His promotion lasted only two games before Indianapolis put him back on the bench.
He’s started just one game since.
“It’s very interesting. It’s very unique because you always want another shot to play, but ultimately, I’m not being asked to play,” Ehlinger said. “I think the best utility of what I could do to serve the team and to serve others and to love others is … to help Anthony and to love Anthony.”
During Richardson’s two-week benching, Ehlinger made a concerted effort to talk to Richardson about his “system,” not only as a player but also as a man. Colts quarterbacks coach Cam Turner added that Ehlinger doubled as a “sounding board” for Richardson to better understand the maturity required to unlock his full potential.
If the 22-year-old wanted to become as great as his physical gifts suggest he could be, he needed to reevaluate his dedication to his craft. Ehlinger challenged him to raise his standard, and after taking Ehlinger’s message to heart, Richardson also has raised his play.
Ehlinger couldn’t have predicted that Richardson would return to the starting lineup in Week 11 and notch a career-high 304 total yards of offense in a come-from-behind win over the Jets, leading a teary-eyed Richardson to hug his “brother” afterward in the locker room. Ehlinger also couldn’t have predicted that two weeks later, Richardson would shake off two interceptions at New England and lead a 19-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Richardson’s game-winning run on a two-point conversion.
But what Ehlinger did foresee, and constantly reminded Richardson of, was that the bench wasn’t the end of his story. It was the beginning of a new one that now features a pair of triumphant chapters that have put the Colts back in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
“He’s built for moments like that, with the game on the line,” Ehlinger said after Indianapolis’ 25-24 victory over New England. “I think more so than anything, just him experiencing the work he’s putting in and getting to see the results (is invaluable). Obviously, this is very early in the process, and he’s gonna continue to learn and grow. But to get wins is rewarding, and it affirms the systems and process that he’s putting in for himself.”
Colts general manager Chris Ballard couldn’t be more grateful for Ehlinger and how he’s embraced his role with Richardson. In an ideal world, every reserve quarterback would be as selfless as Ehlinger, but Ballard knows that isn’t always the case.
“He still competes but also understands that he has to help get the starter ready,” Ballard said. “When Anthony was benched, Sam helped him work through the why behind it. (Sam and I) are very close, and he is very open to feedback on how to improve, but also not timid about giving it, and that has been good for Anthony.”
As Ballard recently told The Athletic, Ehlinger pushed Richardson to read James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones” during his two-week benching. Asked if Richardson, now back in a starting role, would truly finish the 320-page book, Ballard had no doubts.
“Sam will make him,” he quipped.
Ehlinger refuses to take any credit for Richardson’s resurgence, but the Colts QB1 and several others believe Ehlinger deserves his share of the praise because of the example he’s set.
In Alec Pierce’s three NFL seasons, he said there haven’t been many days when he pulls into the parking lot at the team practice facility and Ehlinger’s car isn’t already there. Even if Pierce has to come in an hour earlier for treatment, sometimes arriving at 6:45 a.m., an uninjured Ehlinger is “always here!” as the rest of the team trickles in.
Cornerback Kenny Moore II said Ehlinger’s professionalism off the field translates to how he performs on it, and Moore knows he can’t just go through the motions because Ehlinger will make him look silly in practice. The third-string QB never takes a rep for granted, Moore insisted, especially when running the scout team. Moore believes it takes a special kind of person to “move with so much purpose,” despite the near-certainty that Ehlinger won’t play on game days.
“He really don’t have to be locked in, but that is a true test of character whenever your number isn’t called,” Moore said. “He’s pretty much just waiting for his turn, and I’ve never seen him flinch as far as taking a day off or not being locked in. He’s always a guy that’s been on, so I appreciate that about him as a person and as a teammate.”
Ehlinger said he treats practice like game days, and he relishes the opportunity to command the scout team because it also allows him to play reps against the first-team defense. The 26-year-old still yearns for a starting job, though if things go as planned with Richardson, that opportunity will never come with the Colts.
Ehlinger admitted that it can be difficult to chase a chance that may never come. And if he wants a better one, he may have to leave Indianapolis to find it.
That day could be soon approaching. The 2021 sixth-round pick is in the final year of his rookie contract and will soon be an unrestricted free agent, which he says is exciting and nerve-racking. He claims he’s at peace with his unknown future, and whether he stays or leaves his first organization, he’s grateful for the opportunities he’s been afforded with the Colts. Indianapolis is where Ehlinger realized his childhood dream of being an NFL player.
It’s also where he helped Richardson hold onto his dream and helped keep it attainable.
As the team looks to resume its postseason push at Denver in Week 15, he vowed to continue assisting the Colts in any way he can.
“Ultimately, the main objective is to win football games, always, and winning is fun,” Ehlinger said. “But I think what I appreciate the most about the game of football is the man that you can become because of it. I believe that football is just a small microcosm of life, and it’s an opportunity to be put in a unique situation and to see what you’re made of.”
That mindset is what has made Ehlinger an invaluable teammate as Richardson navigates an inflection point in his career. Whether Richardson sinks or swims ultimately falls on him, but having Ehlinger behind him gives Richardson the support he needs to help keep his head above water.
(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
