Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. will not be available for the team’s regular-season finale Sunday against the Houston Texans, remaining on injured reserve due to an orbital fracture, Colts coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday.

Richardson returned to practice Dec. 18, and Wednesday’s walkthrough marked the first time he was listed as a full participant, but he is still managing “vision limitations” in his right eye that stem from his injury, according to Steichen.

Steichen said he and Richardson had a long conversation in his office Tuesday regarding the decision to keep the dual-threat QB inactive. Richardson appeared in just two games this season, completing one of his two passes (surprisingly to himself) for 9 yards.

“If you don’t have a perfect eyesight there, and something happens (and) you don’t see someone and you get hit, I mean, that’s not a good thing,” Steichen said. “So, we just want to be smart with it.”

Richardson suffered an orbital fracture during what Steichen called a “freak accident” in pregame warmups in Week 6. The quarterback was using a band to stretch. However, when he attached the band to a rod in a locker and pulled it, the rod broke and a piece of the rod recoiled with the band, smashing into Richardson’s face at a high rate of speed, league sources told The Athletic. Richardson was taken to a local hospital and discharged later that day. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve and underwent surgery Oct. 20 to fix his fractured orbital bone.

Richardson initially said he didn’t have any “major limitations” with his vision when he returned to practice a few weeks ago. He reemphasized that point Wednesday while offering more details.

“Everything downfield, not gonna be a problem,” Richardson said. “(It’s) more so within the foot radius of my (vision) box that’s more so the toughest part (in my) daily life, but that’s about it.”

Although he’ll end up missing the final 11 games of the season due to his eye injury, Richardson remains optimistic about his NFL future. The 23-year-old was drafted fourth in 2023, making him the Colts’ highest drafted player since Andrew Luck was first in 2012.

“Oh, yeah, no doubt,” Richardson said of his potential. “If I still got a chance to play football, then, s—, it’s always out there for me.”

Richardson said his eyesight continues to improve, and he’s already seen major progress from when the orbital fracture happened. He’s scheduled to have a check-up in January and anticipates that he’ll have a relatively normal offseason of training as he prepares for his fourth year.

That fourth season might not be in Indianapolis, however. Richardson has not become the franchise QB the Colts envisioned, due to injuries, inaccuracy and immaturity. He was benched for two games last year due to what Steichen labeled as a lack of game preparation. He has only appeared in 15 games in three years, going 8-7 as a starter. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns against 13 interceptions, while adding 10 rushing TDs.