The Indianapolis Colts benched quarterback Anthony Richardson during their game against the Minnesota Vikings, replacing him with backup Joe Flacco on Sunday, Nov. 3. At just 22 years old, Richardson has had to live up to high expectations as the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft and as the NFL’s youngest starting quarterback. However, Richardson has struggled to meet these expectations. The former starter currently has the lowest completion percentage in the NFL at 44.4%, which is the fifth worst for any player in his first six games of a season since 2000. He hasn’t completed more than 50% of passes in any game so far this season, and only completed 10 of 32 passes in his most recent game against the Houston Texans. During the third quarter of the game, Richardson asked to come out. The Colts ended up losing the game 23-20.
Despite the disappointing statistics, many football fans, reporters and fellow members of the NFL argue that the decision to bench Richardson was driven by factors beyond just his performance on the field. The decision caused controversy, leaving Colts supporters uncertain about what the future holds for the team.
Former Colts player and interim head coach Jeff Saturday disagrees with the Colts’ decision to bench Richardson and worries what this decision will mean for his old team.
“At some point, your organization is going to have to move forward with what you have…,” Saturday stated. “Flacco would give them a better chance to win and everybody knew that, but you have to develop [the younger players] at some point. Four games last year, however many games he’s missed this year. This is a bad situation for the Indianapolis Colts. I don’t care if Flacco comes in and plays lights out. For the future of this organization, this is not the direction you want to be going.”
Sports television personality, radio host and journalist, Stephen A. Smith, shared his skepticism about the decision to bench Richardson. Smith believes Richardson was benched to send him the message that he needs to lead, not just play. However, he doesn’t believe Richardson’s choice to voluntarily take himself out of the game against the Texans is enough reasoning for the interminable benching.
“Everything we’ve heard about Richardson: very hard worker, really good kid, committed, puts in the work, does not cheat the game,” Smith said. “So why would the coach suddenly make this decision? We have to ask ourselves, why would he do that? There is no way that if Anthony Richardson is all those things that we’ve heard he is, that because he tapped out, the coach just suddenly says, ‘You’re done for the year.’ That just doesn’t make sense.”
Many fans, however, believe benching Richardson was the right call. Richardson’s lack of college experience – only 13 career starts for the University of Florida Gators before entering the NFL – left him unprepared for the challenges of the NFL. The quarterback also suffered a concussion and shoulder sprain during his first season in 2023 and had to sit out the remainder of the season to undergo shoulder surgery. These factors, potentially combined with his poor attitude, may leave him unequipped to be a starting quarterback for the Colts.
Colts defensive tackle, DeForest Buckner, trusts his head coach’s decision to bench his quarterback.
“Obviously, as a head coach, you’re going to make difficult decisions,” Buckner said. “Everything falls back on the head coach, whatever it is – wins, losses. Big-time decisions like he made last week, whatever the outcome is, he’s going to get the front end of it. And I think he does a really good job navigating those waters.”
Ryan Kelly, the Colts’ center since 2016, views Richardson’s benching as a valuable lesson for the young quarterback.
“Richardson knows it’s not the standard that he needs to play up to and the rest of the team holds him to,” Kelly said.
Despite the many conflicting opinions, the ultimate decision on what to do with Richardson and the Colts lies in the hands of second-year head coach Shane Steichen. Steichen joined the team as a first-time head coach the same year as Richardson, growing alongside the young quarterback. Steichen admitted it was his decision to pull Richardson, and when asked what would happen if the decision ultimately hurts the team, he said he will deal with it.
“It’s my obligation to the 53 guys in this organization to win football games,” Steichen asserted. “And, right now, I’m focused on the present of winning football games, and we’ll get to the future when we have to get to the future.”
“I’m the head coach,” he said. “I oversee it all. And I’ve got to go back and grind at it and keep working.”
Tune in on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. for the Colts’ game against the New York Jets to see what Steichen does about Richardson and how the Colts respond.
