The Indianapolis Colts shocked the football world when they announced they were making a roster move. Leading up to Indianapolis's Sunday Night Football battle with the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts are benching Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco. Richardson, who Indianapolis took with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, has struggled mightily for the Colts. Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen is looking to make the playoffs, but unfortunately, Richardson isn't ready to take the Colts there.

Steichen is turning to Flacco, a timeless veteran who has shown accuracy and poise while under center for Indianapolis. While this move doesn't necessarily mean the Colts are done with Richardson, it does cloud doubt about his future. Soon after the dust had settled, Richardson spoke with the media as the Colts wrapped up practice.

“Of course, it hurts,” Richardson told the media. “As a competitor, I definitely don't wanna be told that you're not the guy anymore for the upcoming week. But it's all good. Using the moment as an opportunity to grow and just learn from my mistakes.”

Richardson added Steichen didn't necessarily explain his reasoning behind the quarterback change. One can assume that Richardson's accuracy issues are the primary reason for the change. Richardson has won three of his six starts this season, but he is completing just 44.4% of his passes (down from last year's 59.5%) and has more interceptions (7) than touchdown passes (4).

Did the Colts make the right call benching Anthony Richardson?

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) looks for an open receiver during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
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The Colts' decision to bench Richardson came two days after the young signal-caller admitted that he took himself out of Sunday's game after getting fatigued. Steichen said that incident wasn't why he decided to bench Richardson. While Richardson will be sidelined for Sunday's game, his benching does not signal the end of his time in Indianapolis. The Colts hope that Richardson can use this time to sit, learn, and grow while continuing to help the team in other ways.

“Tough,” Steichen said when asked how Richardson took the news. “Anytime you get that news is tough. To lose, to not be the starter anymore, it's tough. But you know what, I think he's going to handle it the right way going forward. Be a professional about it, grind, get ready, prepare like you are the starter, because, shoot, he's still one play away.”

Despite Richardson's struggles, the Colts are currently 4-4 in second place in the AFC South division standings. The Colts will turn things over to Flacco to make the most of it. In two games, Flacco has completed 65.7% of his passes with seven touchdowns against just one interception. He also led Indianapolis to an upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4 after Richardson left the game with an injury in the first quarter.