Things in Indianapolis have become quite interesting — and not necessarily in a good way. According to reports on Tuesday afternoon, the Colts have decided to bench 22-year-old starting quarterback Anthony Richardson for 39-year-old Joe Flacco.
Flacco has the clear advantage in overall experience. However, his play on the field has been considerably superior to the former No. 4 Overall pick. In 2024, Flacco has thrown 7 TDs to only 1 INT. He’s completing passes at a 65.7 percent clip. His efficiency with the football has been solid, and there have been moments where Flacco has stretched the field vertically.
Compare those numbers with Richardson — who’s thrown 4 TD passes to 7 INTs. He’s also completing passes at 44.4 percent. Accuracy had long been a worry with Richardson dating back to his days at Florida. No one ever questioned his physical tools. Richardson has immense arm strength and elite athletic ability. However, things just haven’t clicked thus far with him as a franchise signal-caller.
Things got worse this past weekend during Indianapolis’ loss to Houston. Richardson asked out of the game for one play — and admitted after the fact that he did so because he was fatigued. This is not exactly a good sign for a guy only 22 years of age.
Those in the media — including a handful of ex-NFL players — slammed Richardson for his actions. Many are calling into question his ability to lead a team.
All of this may be true. Richardson had the reputation of a supremely talented albeit inconsistent player when coming into the NFL. That categorization has been proven true. In 10 career starts, Richardson has gone 5-5 — throwing 7 TD passes to 8 INT. He’s also connected on only 50.2 percent of his throws throughout his career.
The fact that Indianapolis will turn to a 39-year-old quarterback over the perceived new face of the franchise is quite damning. Conventional wisdom suggests that the team may be close to pulling the plug on the Richardson experiment. That alone could cause a massive ripple effect through the front office. It will be fascinating to see how all of this shakes out moving forward.
