During a Wednesday press conference, Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen shared that after just two weeks, the team would be benching Joe Flacco and turning back to second-year QB Anthony Richardson for the rest of the season. Steichen noted that the Colts' coaching staff has stressed to Richardson the importance of taking command of his off-field preparation and attention to detail, and over the past two weeks, Richardson has made, “big-time strides in becoming a pro's pro.”
After Shane Steichen and the Colts made the decision to make the change at QB, Richardson stated that the last two weeks on the bench have been an eye-opening experience. Apparently, it's been an eye-opening experience for the 39-year-old Joe Flacco as well.
When Flacco addressed the media on Wednesday, he shared that he had hoped to “provide a spark” to the Colts offense when he was inserted as the starter back on November 3rd. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned for the reigning Comeback Player of the Year.
“I really do feel disappointed in the way the last couple of weeks went,” Flacco said, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “When you walk into this locker room, you want to be able to really, really hold your head high and feel like you’ve done the best for the team. And I didn’t necessarily feel like I did that.”
In these last two starts, Flacco has struggled mightily against the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills. The 17-year veteran has thrown just two touchdowns to four interceptions, and had a passer rating under 80 in each of the Colts' two losses. This came after an early season stretch in which Flacco resembled the guy who played a huge part in leading the Cleveland Browns to the postseason. In Weeks 4 through 6, Flacco threw for 716 yards, 7 touchdowns, and had a passer rating of 102.2.
Colts making another big bet on Anthony Richardson
After selecting Anthony Richardson with the 4th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, there's certainly no way the Colts saw his career trajectory going anything like this. Sure, Richardson was in some respects a project. He had limited reps with the Florida Gators, but possessed what seemed to be unlimited potential.
Thus far, with the exception of a handful of “wow” plays, Richardson hasn't come close to reaching that potential. If anything, it seems that he has actually regressed from season one to season two.
In six games this year, Richardson has gone 3-3 as the Colts starter, and has completed just 44 percent of his passes, giving credence to the concerns many scouts had about his accuracy coming out of Florida. As Steichen noted, however, the biggest concerns with Richardson may be his commitment to his craft, and his commitment to the team.
Anthony Richardson made headlines a few weeks back when he asked to come out of a game against the Texans because he was tired, and he was promptly bashed by analysts and former players. A Week 11 matchup with the New York Jets is Richardson's chance to change the narrative, and the Colts' chance to turn their season around.