The Indianapolis Colts made the decision to bench second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco ahead of the team’s Sunday night matchup against Minnesota.
However, despite the decision, according to Stephen Holder, who covers the team for ESPN, a Colts’ source told him that they are “not quitting” on Richardson.
Holder further explains that the Colts want Richardson to “take a step back” and “try to grow” during this time.
Holder added that Richardson was “pretty devestated” but “he’ll be a pro” and no one is concerned about that part.
This decision comes on the heels of Richardson tapping out of a play on Sunday against Houston because he was “tired.”
On Monday, when head coach Shane Steichen was noncommittal as to whether or not Richardson would start this week, he said that, while a conversation was had, Richardson subbing himself out was not a part of Steichen’s decision-making process when it came to who would start against Minnesota.
Then on Tuesday, The Athletic’s James Boyd would report that Richardson subbing himself out was a non-factor in this decision.
An inexperienced and raw quarterback coming out of Florida, the Colts have preached patience when it comes from Richardson’s development since Day 1. However, just 10 games into his NFL career, their patience has run thin.
At 4-4, as head coach Shane Steichen said on Monday, the Colts are in the thick of it when it comes to the AFC playoff race. And, yes, Flacco likely does give them the best chance to win right now.
On the year, Richardson has completed just 44.4 percent of his throws at 7.2 yards per attempt with four touchdown passes to seven interceptions. That completion rate is the lowest in football by over 14 percent among eligible quarterbacks.
Beyond the numbers, the most concerning aspect of all of this is that in addition to Richardson not improving, he’s seeming to struggle more and more each week, which also falls on Steichen as the play-caller.
In theory, giving Richardson time to go back to the basics of his footwork and other nuanced aspects of the quarterback position makes sense. But the best teacher is ultimately experience and live in-game reps, which Richardson now won’t be getting.
So while the Colts may not be giving up on Richardson, the big question is what’s next at the quarterback position? If the Colts remain competitive over the remainder of the season, presumably they would stick with Flacco as their quarterback for the rest of the year and perhaps he can help them put an end to their current playoff draught.
But what about in 2025? Flacco turns 40 years old in January. Would he return for another year? Will the Colts turn the keys back over to Richardson who would, at that time, be entering his third NFL season with still just 10 career starts?
Not to say it can’t be done, but how many times throughout the NFL have we seen a team bench a young quarterback and he comes back better? None of what was just described sounds like a recipe for future success.
As Holder reported, internally the Colts still have belief in Richardson, but the path they’ve chosen to go down isn’t one that for other teams has been conducive to the long-term success of a young quarterback.
All that said, this isn’t to say that Richardson is the answer either. While things certainly haven’t been good, with only 10 starts, we’re still in the TBD category of all this.
And if he’s not the long-term answer, wouldn’t the Colts want to figure that answer out sooner than later? At least at that point there is a direction for the organization to head in–either he’s your guy, or at the very least you know you need to start over. But as of now, it would appear that the Colts are going to continue to live in the unknown.
(This article was updated to provide additional information.)
