The Anthony Richardson era in Indianapolis may have just ended.
Eighteen months after Richardson was drafted fourth overall, eight weeks after he threw a 60-yard touchdown pass that wowed the NFL world and 15 days after Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen publicly and unequivocally backed Richardson as the face of the franchise, Steichen pulled the plug.
Richardson’s reign as QB1 in Indy is over. Possibly forever.
“I can’t predict the future,” Steichen said when asked if Richardson will ever start again for the Colts. “But, I mean, that would be great. We’ll see.”
Steichen’s decision to bench Richardson in favor of 39-year-old veteran Joe Flacco is the latest inflection point for a franchise that has largely been wayward since Andrew Luck retired in August 2019. Since then, Indianapolis has one playoff appearance, zero playoff wins and zero AFC South titles.
Richardson was supposed to be the long-awaited solution that led this team back to prominence. The Colts just won’t wait any longer. This is Flacco’s team now, and regardless of how anyone feels about Richardson’s demotion, the Colts just made a huge bet on Flacco’s present being more valuable than Richardson’s future.
“We’re trying to make the playoffs,” Steichen said. “We’re trying to make a push right now going into November and December and feel that Joe gives us the best chance to do that.”
Steichen had better be right.
Starting Sunday night in Minnesota, Flacco must lead these 4-4 Colts to the postseason. Otherwise, they risked hindering the development and crushing the confidence of their potential franchise quarterback for nothing. And while Steichen said he had the final say in this decision, he won’t be the only one wearing egg on his face if this doesn’t pan out. General manager Chris Ballard and owner Jim Irsay will have to answer some hard questions as well, chief among them: Why should anyone believe in their plans if their plans continue to fail?
“At the end of the day, Joe is like 40 years old, so he only has so many more years,” Colts wide receiver Josh Downs said.
Flacco may not even have next year. The 39-year-old, who is three months older than Steichen, is playing on a one-year deal. There’s no guarantee he will be back in 2025, so the clock is ticking.
Flacco said he’s going to treat his promotion like “a normal day,” but the Colts don’t do normal. Nothing about this is normal. The last time Flacco held the keys to a franchise was his final season as a Raven in 2018, which, fittingly, was also Luck’s last playing season in Indy.
Flacco is understandably thrilled to be back in the saddle, yet he also expressed empathy for what Richardson is going through since eventual two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson took his spot in Baltimore. Flacco, the 2013 Super Bowl MVP, insisted this isn’t end for the Colts’ 22-year-old team captain, but Flacco also won’t be around long enough to see if that’s the case. Flacco doesn’t need to be told that he’s in the twilight of his career, and he’s keenly aware of what will be said if the Colts fail.
“That’s one of those conversations where you just have to go out and play well, and then everybody just thinks you (click) right away,” Flacco said. “It’s honestly just a talking point that if you’re not playing well, ‘Oh well, it’s going to take two weeks.’ And if you do play well, then it just goes away. … It’s just kind of up to us to go play our game and not really worry about that.”
#Colts QB Joe Flacco on Anthony Richardson:
“When I was that young there’s no chance that I would’ve been able to have the perspective … and take it the right way.”
Now, 17 years in he has that perspective and will offer it to AR.
“This doesn’t have to be a negative thing.” pic.twitter.com/TC68wTC9Ur
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 30, 2024
While Colts captains Michael Pittman Jr., Ryan Kelly, Zaire Franklin, Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner all said they were surprised by Richardson’s benching, they vowed to rally behind the QB some in the locker room are calling “Joe Cool.”
Flacco has thrown seven touchdowns against one interception this season, completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 716 yards. There’s no debating that Indianapolis’ passing game has been more efficient with him under center than Richardson.
“He’s been playing a long time,” Steichen said. “When he’s had to step in and play this year, he’s been really efficient, going back to last year. He’s a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.”
But that Super Bowl run was also 11 years ago.
The elephant in the room is whether Flacco can keep turning back the clock with his mistake-free play this year or if he will regress to the mean. There’s a reason all 32 NFL teams passed on making Flacco their Week 1 starter this year. Since Flacco’s final season in Baltimore, he’s 8-16 as the starter. He’s also thrown 40 touchdowns against 30 total turnovers (20 interceptions and 10 lost fumbles) over the last six years. Even during Flaccos’s renaissance last season in Cleveland, in which he went 4-1 as the starter en route to a playoff berth, he threw 13 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He was intercepted in all five starts and got picked off twice or more in two starts.
It won’t get any easier as Flacco rejoins the starting lineup Sunday. The Vikings rank ninth in scoring defense, allowing only 19.6 points per game. Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores also blitzes more than any other team in the league at 41.4 percent.
“They play hard, they create negative plays, and they get after the quarterback,” Kelly said. “So for us, it’s another big test.”
Aside from keeping Flacco upright, Nelson said he must “focus and lock in” to eliminate the pre-snap penalties that have plagued him more than ever before. Entering “Thursday Night Football,” Nelson’s six false starts were the second most in the NFL and more than he’s had in his previous three seasons combined (four from 2021-23).
Franklin has preached that the Colts defense has to turn up a notch as well to give Flacco the best chance to succeed. Indianapolis is 28th in yards allowed (379.6) and 13th in points allowed (21.5) per game in 2024. The points have been manageable, but the yards are an issue that could come back to bite Indy in the worst way if Gus Bradley’s bend-but-don’t-break defense finally gives way.
“We are at .500 at the midpoint of our season,” Franklin said, “and (there is) no way to shake back better than Sunday night. … It’s a chance to show the world and the rest of the league who we are and who we stand for. I wouldn’t say anybody’s shaken by anything. It’s adversity that comes through with the season.”
And the Colts are certainly no stranger to adversity. One could argue they’ve been next-door neighbors without Luck.
“I’m not gonna speak on the idea of why (Richardson) was benched and Joe is starting. I’ve just come to embrace each quarterback as their own,” said Kelly, who’s already snapped to 11 different QBs during his tenure in Indy. “But yeah, this is not necessarily the experience I thought was going to happen. I thought Andrew would be here and we’d be rolling still in Year 9, but I can’t control everything.”
Kelly added that he’d “be lying” if he said it wasn’t frustrating to switch starting QBs again during his career in Indianapolis, but that’s the reality the team finds itself in. The Colts have had a revolving door at the most important position in football for several years, and they chose to walk through it again to make Flacco the captain of their ship.
His next destination must be the playoffs or else the future of everyone onboard will be in jeopardy.
“The pressure doesn’t change,” Buckner said of having a 39-year-old QB take over. “When we’re lining up and competing every Sunday, obviously, you’re competing to make the playoffs, and the ultimate goal, obviously, is the Super Bowl for everybody. And if that’s not your goal every year, why are you here? The goal is to win each and every game, and this is the path that they thought was gonna help us win the most games.”
(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
