WESTFIELD — Anthony Richardson is off and running.

In some cases, literally.

Richardson took every snap with the starters in the first Colts practice of training camp on Thursday, alleviating some of the remaining anxiety left over from the quarterback sitting out the final day of mandatory minicamp due to a sore throwing shoulder.

And although Richardson got off to a slow start, misfiring on a handful of warmup throws in routes on air, he looked mostly sharp once the real football began.

Working almost entirely in the red zone — a practice plan designed to avoid long bursts of speed that could lead to muscle strains, according to head coach Shane Steichen — Richardson completed 4 of 5 passes in 11-on-11 work, including touchdown passes on three consecutive plays.

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Richardson opened the practice with a designed run around the left side, then hit Josh Downs on an out, fired a strike to Alec Pierce on a slant in traffic for a touchdown, found Michael Pittman Jr. on the sideline for another score and wrapped up his first period with a quick, rolling throw to Kylen Granson in the end zone.

His lone misfire in 11-on-11 came in the next red-zone period. Richardson was trying to climb the pocket in search of a receiver, stumbled a bit and fired low to rookie wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, who wasn’t able to make the catch at the ground. There were a couple of plays that developed too slowly in 7-on-7, but it was a truncated practice to start camp.

Richardson also wrapped up the practice with a score on a run up the middle, a play linebacker Zaire Franklin would probably argue ended with a tackle-for-loss.

Franklin came free at the line of scrimmage and attacked Richardson, who faked right, planted his foot and made a sharp cut to the left.

The veteran middle linebacker cannot hit the quarterback in practice, and it was clear Franklin thought he would have made the tackle.

“It was close,” Steichen said with a smile. “We’re going to go back and look at it. I kind of said something, but then he turned away.”

From the sidelines, it appeared Richardson’s move would have beaten Franklin.

There is no doubt in Richardson’s mind.

“You know that wasn’t a tackle,” Richardson said.

Battles already underway

The key spots up for grabs are already easy to see in practice.

Pierce and Mitchell split up the first teamwork as the team’s third wide receiver in two 11-on-11 periods in practice. At least four tight ends took a snap with the first-team offensive line.  JuJu Brents, Jaylon Jones and Dallis Flowers rotated among the two outside cornerback spots on a play-to-play basis defensively.

Brents was in coverage on the touchdown pass to Pierce; Flowers had a breakup on Joe Flacco’s first pass of 7-on-7.

Nick Cross got the bulk of the work at free safety, but at every other spot, players are rotating right away.

“It’s got to be intentional,” Steichen said. “There are going to be some position battles in the starting spots, backup roles. We’ve got to find that out.”

The Colts will add a developmental period in practice next week for the younger players who do not get as many snaps in practice.

Taylor Town

Jonathan Taylor is fully healthy after a season and a half spent dealing with ankle and thumb injuries that forced him into an ongoing series of absences and false starts.

Taylor looked the part in the team’s first practice, making quick cuts and accelerating with his customary speed in the running game. Indianapolis gave him five carries in 15 plays of 11-on-11 work, and all five looked strong, capped by a darting run through the middle for a touchdown.

Richardson also threw the running back two passes in 7-on-7, the first a rhythm throw out of the backfield that got the ball into Taylor’s hands quickly, the second a drop by Taylor after Richardson waited too long before flipping the ball into the flat. Even if Taylor had held onto the ball, Franklin would have blown him up in an actual game, in large part because it took a little too long to get out there.

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Injury report

Right tackle Braden Smith, who is coming off offseason knee surgery to fix the balky knee that plagued him last season, did not practice. Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard said Wednesday that the team planned to work in Smith slowly, but the Colts did not put him on any injury list, a signal that he should be on the field soon.

Backup running back Tyler Goodson, who reported to training camp with a toe injury, was initially a possible absence early in camp, but Goodson was on the field and ready to go right away Thursday, handling at least three carries in 11-on-11 work.

Backup defensive tackle Raekwon Davis was placed on the active/non-football illness list with high blood pressure, according to Steichen, and expected back once the issue is resolved. Defensive back Chris Lammons remains on the physically unable to perform list.

Rookie wide receiver Anthony Gould was briefly examined by trainers after diving for a ball from Sam Ehlinger at the back of the end zone in 7-on-7, but Gould eventually recovered and returned to practice.

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Quick hitters

First-round pick Laiatu Latu blew past third-year tackle Jake Witt at the snap in an 11-on-11 period to create a “sack” on Flacco. … Pittman did his stretching in the quarterbacks line Wednesday, right next to Richardson. Players normally stick with their position groups. …   Tight end Jelani Woods dropped a potential touchdown pass from Flacco in 7-on-7 drills in the red zone. … The Colts are giving a wide range of players chances to return kicks under the new kickoff rules. Ashton Dulin, Dallis Flowers, Tyler Goodson, Josh Downs, Trey Sermon, Anthony Gould, Evan Hull, Alec Pierce, D.J. Montgomery, Ethan Fernea and Kenny Moore II all got chances to return kicks during the special teams period on Thursday

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Anthony Richardson on the move on first day of Colts camp