A week ago, Anthony Richardson had his first practice as the Colts’ backup quarterback. So what has the last week been like for him?
It was last Wednesday that Anthony Richardson had his first practice as the Indianapolis Colts’ backup quarterback, after the team made the decision to bench him in favor of Joe Flacco.
So now, one week later, as the Colts head back to the practice field in preparation for Buffalo, how have things been different for Richardson over the last week?
“Not much is different,” said Richardson at his locker. “I’m still preparing as if I am having the opportunity to play. So whenever there is opportunity, if they call my name they call my name, I’ll be ready to play.”
Following the team’s decision to bench Richardson, head coach Shane Steichen and GM Chris Ballard sat down with Richardson to discuss why they were making the move.
“They told me they were going to go with Joe,” said Richardson of the conversation. “I have some things to clean up and just get better at. So I took that and I ran with that, so now I’m just trying to focus on that.”
On the season, Richardson had completed a league-low 44 percent of his passes with four touchdowns to seven interceptions. While both on the ground and through the air he brought explosive playmaking potential to the offense, consistency was lacking, resulting in a very boom-or-bust Colts’ offense.
With the Colts still in the thick of the AFC playoff race, even at 4-5, one of the key reasons that the Colts made the switch to Flacco was that he gave them the best chance to win and make a playoff push.
However, while things can still turn around with eight games remaining, after the Colts put all eyes around the NFL on themselves with this move, they then followed it up with a dud of an offensive performance on Sunday night against the Vikings.
But even so, as the Colts chase the seventh seed in the AFC while Richardson remains on the sidelines, they remain committed to Flacco.
As far as Richardson, he’s going to continue working on his craft so when his next opportunity comes–whenever that may be–he’s ready to take advantage.
“Just focus on the minute details,” Richardson added. “Just working on being a pro. Just trying to master everything that comes with it and just continue to learn and step into the territory just whatever they throw at me just be ready for it.”
OH NO ANTHONY RICHARDSON HOW COULD YOU YAWN ON THE SIDELINES OF A GAME YOU WEREN’T PLAYING?
That’s sarcasm font, in case you didn’t pick up on it. Because the benched Anthony Richardson was just standing on the sidelines of the Indianapolis Colts’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings, when NBC cameras cut to him yawning.
Jalen Hurts reacts to the benchings of young quarterbacks; Lack of patience around NFL
Jalen Hurts was drafted in 2020 to be a backup quarterback in the NFL. Still, after his improvement and Carson Wentz’s benching, the former Oklahoma signal-caller has developed into one of the best in the league.
After an Eagles practice, Hurts recently shared his thoughts on the frequent benching of young quarterbacks (Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young) in the NFL and teams’ overall impatience with their development. He emphasized that the transition to the league can be incredibly challenging, with a steep learning curve that not all QBs can navigate immediately.
“I wasn’t supposed to be the guy I am today Hurts said via Zach Berman. Nobody expected that. But took advantage of my opportunity, and that’s what I encourage everyone to do regardless. I have a ton of respect for Tom Brady. And you hear him talk a lot of times, taking advantage of your moment. Typically there’s a different leash there, the earlier you’re picked. But nonetheless, nothing’s guaranteed and nothing’s promised. But you have to take advantage of every opportunity that comes.
“And sometimes, adversity builds the appropriate callouses for you to be able to forge a new path and withstand different storms that come your way.”
Over his first two seasons, Hurts had a 59% completion percentage with 4,063 yards passing, 21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 1,056 rushing yards, and a Super Bowl appearance.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Hurts completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 3,858 yards and a career-high 23 touchdowns in 17 regular season games last season. He also added 15 rushing touchdowns, setting a new NFL record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single season, matching Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
The Vikings now know who they will be facing on Sunday and it is not who others have played against when facing the Colts.
In a shocking turn of events, the Indianapolis Colts have named Joe Flacco the starting quarterback for Sunday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. Head coach Shane Steichen hinted that this was the move when he declined to commit to Anthony Richardson on Monday.
Richardson, the former first-round pick, has completed just 44.4% of his passes and asked to be subbed out for one play this past Sunday due to ‘being tired’. He has yet to complete more than 50% of his passes this season — something Viking fans would’ve loved to see on Sunday.
But instead, Minnesota will face veteran Joe Flacco. Last season, the Cleveland Browns turned to Flacco, who led the Browns to a 4-1 record down the stretch and into the playoffs. He is 1-1 with the Colts this season and threw for 359 yards and three scores against the Jaguars earlier in the year.
The Minnesota secondary will have to be up to standard on Sunday with Flacco at the helm.
You don’t give up on traits like this after effectively eight starts.
As the NFL trade deadline nears, the Cleveland Browns must be the team to call the Indianapolis Colts on their newly benched quarterback Anthony Richardson.
After drafting him with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Colts are already moving Richardson to the bench for former Browns fan favorite Joe Flacco. This is on the heels of a loss to the Houston Texans and a rough start to his 2024 campaign after returning from a shoulder injury.
While many thought this would be a short-term benching after Richardson voluntarily subbed himself off the field, Colts head coach Shane Steichen has iterated that Flacco will start the rest of the season.
This means the Colts have no franchise quarterback and are effectively giving up on the highly talented Richardson. They are also tanking his trade value in the meantime as the NFL trade deadline nears.
The Browns must be on the phone about the quarterback who has the tools we have never seen before with Cam Newton being his closest athletic comparison. He has perhaps the strongest arm in the NFL, up there with Josh Allen. He runs a 4.43 40-yard dash.
Are there areas of his game that need to be worked on and improved? Absolutely. But if the cost is right, why shouldn’t the Browns be the ones go give him that time and space? The risk is well worth the reward.
If the Browns want to navigate their way out of the Deshaun Watson contract, they are going to have to do it with a quarterback on a cheap contract. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is not going to be that player. That is quite obvious.
The Browns could (and should bring back Jameis Winston on a similar deal in 2025 if he continues to play well. He will likely act as a bridge quarterback for either a rookie quarterback in 2025 or until the Browns draft a new young gunslinger in 2026.
Why couldn’t he be a bridge for Richardson, who is just 22 years old and has two years left on his contract (plus a potential fifth-year option), until he is ready to see the NFL field again? He has some issues to handle on his end with his accuracy and some off-season reworking on his upper body mechanics, but the tools are too good to give up on.
Besides, the 2025 NFL draft crop of quarterbacks is a subpar one. Outside of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders there is not a quarterback that has proven worthy of being a first round pick. When looking at this crop of quarterbacks as well, Richardson is younger than Sanders, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, and is just three days older than Miami’s Cam Ward.
Trading a potential third round pick, a round where the Browns have picked up an extra selection after the trade of Amari Cooper, for Richardson is a far better option than using a first round pick on any of these rookie quarterbacks. It’s certainly better than trading up to get one if the Browns continue to win with Winston.
Could he have handled the situation where he subbed himself out for a play against the Houston Texans better? Absolutely. However, he is young and has effectively played just 20 games since high school.
The traits are simply too jarring to give up on in just this short amount of time after selecting him with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
An Anthony Richardson revenge tour may just be on the horizon, and the Browns should be the one to host it.
Yes, why tell your top wideout his starting quarterback’s been benched?
Michael Pittman Jr., like the rest of the Indianapolis Colts’ offense, is going through a rough patch in 2024.
The big-bodied possession receiver has seen his numbers drop for the league’s 19th-ranked offense. His receptions per game are down from a career-best 6.8 in 2023 to just 3.6 this fall. His 41.5 percent success rate on targets is a career low by nearly 10 full points.
The culprit is an unstable passing game. Second year quarterback Anthony Richardson dialed up the kind of big downfield throws you’d want from a franchise quarterback, but completed just 44 percent of them to start the season. That led to a change before Week 9, making 38-year-old veteran Joe Flacco the team’s starter.
Pittman wasn’t given the chance to offer the Indianapolis coaching staff his thoughts about a potential switch before it happened. In fact, he didn’t even know Flacco was being elevated until he read about it on social media.
#Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. said he found out about the QB change through social media.
That’s a rough look for a team whose inconsistency has doomed it to a 4-4 record this fall. The Colts are very much in the playoff race, which is what justified the switch from the high ceiling, low floor passing of Richardson to the more stable Flacco. It still feels like something that should have been communicated to the team’s wideouts before it hit Twitter, however.
Sunday’s Week 8 loss to the Texans seemed to be the final straw for the Colts and starting quarterback Anthony Richardson. The No. 4 pick from the 2023 NFL Draft was demoted in favor of 39-year-old Joe Flacco, and one moment, in particular, fueled questions behind the benching.
As the Colts were driving inside the red zone during the third quarter, Richardson removed himself from the game after a sack on second and goal. The Colts had to settle for a field goal on the drive, and Richardson admitted that he took himself out of the game because he was tired.
Colts coach Shane Steichen was understandably asked if that had anything to do with Richardson’s benching. Steichen denied that it played a part in the decision, but still criticized Richardson for it.
Steichen considered the mishap a development moment for Richardson. But even if that wasn’t the reason behind the benching, it couldn’t have inspired much confidence inside that coaching room.
You can’t have a quarterback taking himself out of the game to rest.
Let’s head back to the film room and take a closer look at Anthony Richardson’s Week 8 performance for the Indianapolis Colts.
I had pretty much this entire thing written but wasn’t quite in a position to post it late Monday night. Then the Indianapolis Colts benched Anthony Richardson and it felt like a different approach was needed. There has been a lot of discourse around this move in the football world, so I wanted to really dig in and see what this past game looked like.
Typically, we start with the passing chart, dig into some numbers, then look at a fun play from this past weekend. Instead of that, I thought we’d start with the passing chart, then just kind of roll through some of the film.
One of the main narratives I’ve seen from this game is that it wasn’t nearly as bad as the stats say. And, while I agree with that to some degree, there were issues that showed up in this game that have been with him all season, so I thought it was worth it to bring those up.
So, to kick things off, let’s look at Richardson’s passing chart from this game:
There is certainly some context that colors those numbers in a slightly better light, but a 31.3% completion percentage is not something you ever want to see. PFF has the Colts receivers charted with 2 drops on the game, but that’s remarkably charitable to the receivers even by PFF standards. I’d say there were 4-6 passes from Richardson that should have been caught but weren’t.
We’ll get to those, but we’ll start with Richardson. He has major issues with both his footwork and his timing, and those issues have led to a number of straight-up missed throws. His eyes are seeing things correctly, he knows where to go, but he just misses the throw.
Part of his issue is that it looks like his feet are sped-up on his drop, leading to him hitting the back foot of his drop earlier than expected. That leads to plays where he’s loaded up and ready to throw a beat before he’s supposed to be. He’ll get the coverage he’s looking for and the receiver will be open, but the timing is off, which leads to an inconsistent release.
Then you’ll have times where he is reading everything well, only for pressure to break through the pocket. On this play he initially navigates the pressure well – climbing through the pocket and finding room – only to panic once he breaks and make an off-platform throw to a spot where there’s little room for a complete pass. If Richardson takes a beat when he’s breaking through, he would see the better throw is to lay this up on the right for Alec Pierce to run under.
Then you have moments where Richardson reads everything right, throws a nice ball and the receiver just never sees it.
Or putting a ball up to a receiver on a vertical route, only to see it clang off hands and fall incomplete.
Richardson is still capable of some incredible feats on the football field. It’s a shame Adonai Mitchell couldn’t get his second foot down because Richardson uncorked a perfect throw midway through the 1st quarter with a flick of the wrist.
Or when he hangs in the pocket with 6’4”, 318lb Folorunso Fatukasi [91] running directly at his face and hitting a wide open Josh Downs for a TD.
The highs are high, but there’s a ton of inconsistency in Richardson’s game. Like I mentioned earlier, most of that seems to stem from footwork and timing on his dropback. Nothing is really tied together for him right now, leaving him to rely on his physical gifts to get the job done. And don’t get me wrong, he has some tremendous gifts, which is why we get the highs we get.
Unfortunately, that also means a healthy dose of inconsistency on a down-to-down basis. Even when he works within the rhythm of the offense, it’s just a little off. The timing isn’t quite right.
Richardson is keeping pretty lonely company with his -0.115 EPA per play and -14.6% CPOE (Completion Percentage Over Expected). His Success Rate (37.4%) is 3rd worst (just behind DeShaun Watson and Spencer Rattler) and his completion percentage (47.2%) is dead last in the league.
I will reiterate an earlier point: this isn’t entirely on Richardson. There are issues with the rest of the offense that have contributed to this to some extent. Drops, inconsistent routes and miscommunication have certainly played a part. That being said, Richardson’s issues are impossible to ignore at this point, even with the occasional eye-popping play.
Without being in the building, there’s no way to know the exact reason Richardson was benched after this week. It’s not simply because of his performance in this game, because a lot of the bad we saw this week is the exact same brand of bad we’ve been seeing this season. There hasn’t been any progression, but he also hasn’t gotten worse.
I’ll end with this, and it’s something I kind of touched on earlier: Richardson seems like a smart player. His eyes are in the right place, but the process to get it there clearly still needs a lot of work. I know it’s not as easy as simply saying, “here is what I would do,” because there are personalities and feelings and dynamics involved in these things that no one on the outside truly knows.
That being said, here is what I would do (fully acknowledging that I am working with incomplete information and don’t actually have to make the call or have these conversations face-to-face):
I would commit to sitting Richardson for the year. Joe Flacco is the starter, Sam Ehlinger is QB2 and Richardson is QB3. I’m treating this as a redshirt year. I know organizations don’t truly coach up mechanics that much in-season, but I’d look for ways to do that with Richardson, without the pressure of having to prepare for a game. Get his timing and footwork to a place where he can do it in his sleep. You need a 3 step drop that transitions to a 5 step concept to the backside? Drill that in. Get that portion of the game to be second nature for him.
If you still view Richardson as the future – and I absolutely would – I would make sure the mechanics are as smooth and automatic as possible. You know he can read a defense and uncork a ball 70 yards at a moment’s notice. Get him more consistent with the operation, with an eye on starting him Week 1 2025.
It’s true that he needs his reps, but he’s clearly not where he needs to be right now, and I don’t know that the negative in-game reps are helpful. Make it clear to him that he’s the starter next year, then get his operation buttoned-up. Slow the base part of his game down to where he doesn’t have to think about it. That’ll help with consistency, and they can unleash a (hopefully) fully operational weapon in 2025.
Albums listened to: Laura Marling – Patterns in Repeat; St. Vincent – All Born Screaming; Boygenius – The Record; John Carpenter – Lost Themes
Anthony Richardson becomes 2nd first-round quarterback from 2023 to be benched
It’s been a tough go for every quarterback from 2023 not named C.J. Stroud. With Bryce Young being benched after just two games into the 2024 season, the same fate has not befallen former 4th overall pick Anthony Richardson.
#Colts QB Anthony Richardson on taking himself out of the game in the 3rd quarter: “Tired, I ain’t gonna lie. That was a lot of running right there that I did … So, I just told Shane (Steichen) I needed a break right there.”
Richardson has struggled all season, both with staying healthy and playing at an acceptable level when he has been on the field. On the year Richardson has just 4 passing touchdowns to 7 interceptions, awarding him an abysmal quarterback rating of 57.2 on the season. The boiling point for Richardson came last week when he took himself out of the game on a 3rd and goal play because he was “tired”. While he clearly was exhausted given the previous few plays, many circles will not look kindly on any quarterback taking themselves out of the game at any level of football.
23 starts since high school for Anthony Richardson
the youngest and least experienced (former) starter in the NFL
All this being said, it is not the end of Richardson’s story. The Indianapolis Colts knew they were taking a bit of a project when they drafted Richardson given he had not played very much at the collegiate level and missed most of last year. This will be a chance for Richardson to reset, learn, and come back likely later into this season and show the rewards of patience. Only time will tell if Richardson can put it all together, but it is certainly not a good start for the quarterbacks of the 2023 draft class.
Flacco will now make this third start of the season on Sunday night and against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9. It’s possible that Flacco, 39, will still be under center the following weeks as well after the update.
On the surface, the news is surprising.
Underneath, it is not. Flacco has played well in his earlier starts this year. He is 1-1 overall in 2024.
However, there was an issue last week for the Colts and Richardson.
In a tight AFC South race, Indianapolis lost 23-20 to the Houston Texans last week who lead their division. Richardson was playing poorly in the outing, and out of nowhere, he decided to sub himself out of the game and later admitted that he was simply “tired” and needed a rest.
That is something unheard of for a starting quarterback in the NFL. The headlines that followed were expectedly bad for the team and QB and now Flacco will get the nod.
Things could change after Week 9 and until then Jets Wire will provide updates as information becomes available.
