New Report Reveals What Colts Players Actually Think About Anthony Richardson’s Benching.
Joe Flacco will be the starting quarterback of the Colts for the foreseeable future. Although the team is not giving up on its first round pick from a year ago, head coach Shane Steichen determined that Anthony Richardson was not giving Indianapolis its best chance to win.
In turn, the 22-year-old was benched in favor of the 39-year-old.
Richardson played six games this season. Although he made some plays with his feet, he completed only 44.4% of his 133 pass attempts for less than 1,000 yards with three more interceptions than touchdowns.
To make matters worse, the second-year signal-caller literally took himself out of the game last weekend. It was not due to injury. He was tired.
Veteran players on the Colts were not thrilled with what happened, but they stood by their young quarterback and promised to use the frustrating sequence of events as a teaching moment.
As a result of his poor play and the baffling self-substitution, Steichen decided to bench Richardson. Even though the reasons behind the decision were very obvious, Richardson foolishly admitted that his head coach did “not necessarily” explain the sudden move, which reflects a lack of self-awareness.
Despite all of the drama, Indianapolis was very vocal in support of the former No. 4 overall pick.
Those feeling may not be as valid behind the scenes. A new report from NFL inside Ian Rapoport reveals how the locker room actually felt about their two different options at quarterback. They wanted Flacco…
One thing was clear, as several sources pointed out: While players went on the record in support of Richardson, several did so believing that he was not the best answer for their current team. Flacco has played too well in relief (716 yards, seven TDs and one INT in four appearances).
One team source, describing Flacco’s performance, said the main reason for this move is because Flacco has played at such a high level.
Several sources with knowledge of the thinking of Colts players say they believe this choice was the right one. They wanted Flacco to be this year’s QB.
— Ian Rapoport
This should not come as a huge surprise. Joe Flacco is elite. Anthony Richardson was struggling.
