Ryan Leaf was benched in 1998, his rookie year out of Washington State, during his 10th game behind center for the San Diego Chargers.
For him, it was the beginning of the end for a disappointingly short career, one that left him cast as one of the league’s saddest draft busts after being taken one spot behind the Colts’ Peyton Manning.
In an interview Monday, a day when Colts head coach Shane Steichen was announcing that Joe Flacco would be his quarterback moving forward, only to change his mind Wednesday and announce that Anthony Richardson would start the rest of the season, Leaf, drafted No. 2 overall by the Chargers, was remembering how he handled the kind of benching Richardson experienced the previous two weeks.
“How did I handle it? Horribly,” said Leaf, who is now working in the football media and continues to be an advocate for mental and behavioral health. “But I was also a child. It’s really difficult to make relatable comparisons to me, honestly, because of how immature I was.
“But that was a team-driven decision. I believe June Jones, who was our interim head coach at the time, would have loved nothing more than to keep fighting with me and trying to figure it out offensively. But Junior Seau, Rodney Harrison, some of the veterans, they went to (general manager Bobby) Beathard and said, `I hate losing, but I can’t stand losing with people who aren’t professionals and aren’t committed to what we want to accomplish.’ It was black and white for me; I’m the starting quarterback or not, either you believe in me or you don’t. There was no gray area there of sitting and learning. I flipped the switch; I was done.
“It’s amazing how someone can be so mentally strong to get to that place and then, in one fell swoop, turn into a mental midget.”
Grateful to have been part of the first Annual Living Well Gala, celebrating an organization that’s breaking down the barriers to mental health care.
The Living Well Mission reminds us that everyone deserves access to the support they need, no matter where they are or what they… pic.twitter.com/kV3pgoieGf
— Ryan D Leaf (@RyanDLeaf) October 25, 2024
Now the Colts will find out how well Richardson handled the benching and handles his return to the starting lineup. Steichen said it Wednesday: Richardson will be the starting quarterback the rest of the season – as long as he stays healthy, which has been an issue in his short pro career.
Leaf doesn’t see him going into the tank. Richardson said all the right things this week in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Jets in New Jersey. Steichen said Richardson has been a “pro’s pro” in recent weeks. Accuracy will help, though; Richardson is currently completing just 44 percent of his passes this season, the lowest mark in NFL history.
“I would tell (Richardson) you can control attitude, behavior and effort,” Leaf said. “You can’t control coaches decisions, can’t control the media and what they’re going to say, but if your attitude, behavior and effort are second to none, your teammates are going to notice and they’ll say, `I’ll ride into battle any time with this guy.’
“Hell, I didn’t figure it out until I was 38. If I was counseling him now, that’s what I’d say. It’s tough because as athletes, we’re pampered, we’re placed on a pedestal, told how great we are, and when all that stops and all of a sudden the fanboys are now detractors, you’re like, `Screw you, I’m the special one here.’ There’s a humility that has to come with it.”
In the interest of providing context – again – we spoke to Leaf Monday when Flacco was still the starter. All of that changed Wednesday.
“I was one who, two weeks ago, thought they were good enough in a division they could still win and Anthony was more of a liability and Flacco was the right call,” Leaf said. “But it’s two weeks in a row now, the defense has been good but the offense is turning it over. I don’t see this team being disruptive in the AFC playoff race, so that returns to the idea that they have to get AR reps. That’s the only way you’re going to know if he’s the answer or not. If he’s on the bench, all you’re doing is kicking the can down the road.
“These last two weeks (losses to Minnesota and Buffalo) proved this team isn’t very good…The biggest thing about Richardson coming in was that he didn’t have enough experience, that he needed reps and you need to find out if he’s the guy because if he’s not, you’ve got to find another quarterback.”
Anthony Richardson started just 10 NFL games before being benched, but now returns and will be the starter for the rest of the season.
The Colts are adamant they have not given up on him, and coach Shane Steichen noted today he's seen Richardson make strides over the last two… pic.twitter.com/XHwYZ3thJD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 13, 2024
Now the 22-year-old quarterback, the youngest QB in the league, finds himself back in the vortex. His professionalism has been questioned, Steichen putting him in a two-week “timeout.” Now is his chance to show his teammates he’s fully committed to the process.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re losing as long as the team is behind the quarterback and they feel like he’s putting in the time and doing the work, like he’s a leader,” Leaf said. “Look at Peyton (Manning), his team was 3-13 and he set the record for interceptions by a rookie (28) but I promise you, there wasn’t a time when that locker room went to (then-head coach Jim) Mora and said, `Get this kid out of there, he’s bringing us down.’
“Looking at the (Richardson) benching, that tells me the locker room spoke because when you look at it from 30,000 feet, everybody knows that he (Richardson) has got to play. But I truly believe there were voices in that room that said, `We want Joe in there, Anthony isn’t a leader right now.’ If that team wants it, that’s usually how it plays out.
“I’m able to relate through the lens of me and Peyton. We were both struggling (our rookie years) but my teammates didn’t want me out there, they didn’t want me representing them. Where in Indy, Peyton had all those interceptions and a few wins (3) but everybody looked at him and saw the dude was committed and a leader and guys were more than happy to go into battle with him, regardless of wins and losses.”
Leaf looks at the league writ large and sees a problem with the way some NFL teams are developing young quarterback.
“The rookie salary cap has allowed teams to discard guys more quickly; the investment isn’t as high,” he said. “You see Arizona take Josh Rosen, and one year later they’re drafting Kyler Murray. It’s not like signing Sam Bradford to a $60 million deal as a rookie. Look around the league – Kenny Pickett, Mac Jones – they last a short time and then organizations give up on them.
“I look now, and I don’t think there’s a quarterback in college with a first-round grade. But they’ll be asked to come in and play and expectations will be set, whether that’s Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward or somebody else. There’s a fundamental breakdown when it comes to developing quarterbacks…For me, it’s sometimes very hard to watch these multi-billion-dollar organizations operate so fundamentally poorly when it comes to the most important position on their football team. You draft a guy, you’ve got to move heaven and earth to make it work. Don’t just throw a dart at the dartboard and hope.
“…People like to label me, (Trey) Lance, JaMarcus (Russell) as these major busts, but I look at Richardson or Lance, those decisions to take them that high, that’s entirely on the organization’s plate. And those quarterbacks will have to wear it.”
