Quarterback Anthony Richardson’s benching will signify a turning point with the Indianapolis Colts’ organization.
The most fascinating component of that turning point, though? No one can figure out which direction they’re heading next.
The decision, made official Wednesday, surprised rival executives around the NFL. It’s been both criticized and defended. Maybe it’ll be the jolt Richardson needs to return to the path that led to him being the fourth pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. Maybe it’ll be the end of his time in Indy, with the Colts again searching for their first franchise quarterback since Andrew Luck retired in 2019.
With so many elements at stake, let’s examine what led to the Colts’ decision and how the team is being viewed by its peers around the league. There are a few different schools of thought, but we’ll start with one of the more popular opinions.
Experience needed
Richardson won’t solve his greatest weakness from the bench. He needs playing time.
The 22-year-old entered the NFL with 13 collegiate starts at Florida, and he’s started only 10 games since. Another factor: Richardson didn’t have much private coaching or time on the all-star and camp circuits in high school and college, so he wasn’t as refined as so many of the top draft prospects who have entered the league more polished than quarterbacks from even 10 or 20 years ago.
“He was further behind than a lot of QBs who have recently come into the league,” said an executive, who, like the other sources in this story, was granted anonymity so he could speak openly.
It’s challenging to develop quarterbacks from the bench. There’s such an immediate urgency to win that coaches and general managers can’t always afford to wait if they’re feeling the heat with their job security. So they pour every resource into the starter during the regular season, while the quality of the backup’s reps typically nosedives after training camp.
One executive believed Richardson would have benefited from an extra season at Florida simply to gain experience, though it’s admittedly difficult to turn down the chance at a fully guaranteed first-round contract.
“(Richardson) needs to play to gain experience and learn,” a second executive said. “He hasn’t had many live reps in his football career. This season should have been presented as that development and growth across the board.”
So here’s the danger. Richardson played sparingly at Florida in 2020 and 2021 before taking over as the full-time starter in 2022. He started four games as a rookie with the Colts before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. He’s played six games this season, again dealing with injuries, and is now on the bench for the foreseeable future.
There’s a chance Richardson wakes up in 2025 with 23 NFL and college starts under his belt over a five-year span. It’s incredibly difficult for a quarterback to be sharp without competitive reps. That’s been cited as the chief reason for Trey Lance’s lack of development and even Deshaun Watson’s struggles with the Cleveland Browns.
“(Richardson’s struggles are) not from a lack of intelligence. He’s a smart dude,” the first executive said. “It’s a lack of reps. He just needs experience.”
Richardson won’t gain that experience from the sideline.
Room for growth
And now, let’s make room for the double-edged sword.
Though Richardson has needed experience, another executive said the bigger second guess would have been playing him as a rookie. He needed time to learn the game at an NFL level, to process the plays and execute them at the highest speed imaginable.
Quarterbacks play earlier than ever before, but the threat always exists that a player’s development can be ruined by hitting the field too early. Bryce Young wasn’t set up for success with the Carolina Panthers, and he now looks like a shell of the decorated former Alabama star.
“I’m not sure starting a guy like Anthony during his rookie year was very smart,” a third executive said. “If you spent time with him (before the draft), it was clear he was going to need at least a year to sit and learn what it takes to play QB in the NFL from a neck-up standpoint, preparation standpoint, etc. (That was a) disservice to him.”
So, how does a team walk such a fine line? First, it’s up to the organization to determine whether the QB is ready to take over. And in the case of a first-round pick, it’s not just about taking over the job but harnessing every responsibility of instantly becoming the face of the franchise. That’s an organizational decision that requires everyone to be on the same page through honest conversations.
Second, the QB needs help, whether it’s from the coaching staff, offensive line, skill players or the overall balance of the roster. C.J. Stroud was set up for success with the Houston Texans, but there isn’t an executive in the league who believes he would’ve enjoyed the same rookie season if he’d been dropped into the mess in Carolina.
It’s fair to wonder whether everyone has been aligned with Richardson’s developmental plan. Obviously, Richardson hasn’t played as well as he did during his rookie season, but this is still a quick hook under the circumstances.
“Why bench him now?” the third executive said. “He missed most of his rookie year, so he hasn’t really played, and now it’s not good enough?
“The lesson is not starting a guy before he is ready to play the hardest position in sports, especially a guy who barely played in college.”
Confidence factor
Now the Colts need to handle damage control with Richardson’s confidence.
At minimum, getting benched is humbling. At worst, it can be humiliating.
It’s one of the biggest stories in the league right now. Everyone is talking about it, whether it’s in the Colts’ building, other buildings or in the media. Richardson knows it.
Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence admitted he had to rebuild his confidence after an awful rookie season with head coach Urban Meyer. He’s hardly the only young QB to get shaken under the circumstances. Most of these QBs have experienced nothing but success throughout their football journeys. Then they arrive in the NFL in their early 20s, struggle and sometimes very publicly lose their jobs. Even the most mentally tough will take a hit from that type of adversity.
“Benching him sends so many mixed messages to him, the locker room, the organization, the fan base,” the second executive said. “You’re going to have to pick up the pieces from this decision.”
If Richardson ever wins back his job, the Colts need to be upfront about their expectations. If he fears another quick benching, Richardson won’t play freely enough to have success. That must be conveyed.
There’s also got to be an understanding over his playing style. It’s one thing to limit his running plays to reduce exposure to big hits because of his injury history. It’s another thing to mute an element of his game that’s paramount to success.
At this stage, Richardson needs the freedom to improvise. He’s not yet accurate enough to be a consistent pocket passer. If the Colts don’t give Richardson the confidence to play his way, this is never going to work.
Present over future
The Colts are 4-4 and two games (plus the tiebreaker) behind the Texans in the AFC South. They’re out of a playoff spot by a game in the loss column.
This move is viewed as a declaration that, in 2024, the playoffs are more important than Richardson’s need for playing time.
Joe Flacco, the reigning NFL Comeback Player of the Year, kept the Browns in the 2023 playoff race. He’s played well enough in two starts this season that the Colts are hoping for similar good fortune.
But what’s the realistic ceiling this season?
“It feels like the Colts will always be chasing their tail,” the second executive said. “It’s so shortsighted. They’re looking at this season as opposed to how this impacts the organization for seasons to come. You’re going to have to pay the piper at some point. So, go through the growing pains now versus inevitably going through them later.
“If they win nine games and miss the playoffs, is it worth it? If they make the playoffs, is it worth it? You did it with a 39-year-old QB. Are they going to re-sign (Flacco) and continue to play with him? You’re going to have to face it at some point.”
Richardson has been heavily criticized for pulling himself out for a play against the Texans to catch his breath. But an executive who studied that game said the Colts had other players who weren’t giving maximum effort. This could present a bigger problem, whether in the locker room or their playoff hopes.
Surely, Flacco might give the Colts a better chance to win games right now. But they’d be hard-pressed to get through the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens, among others, in the playoffs.
Tap into that hindsight
OK, there are reasons to defend the Colts for the benching.
While they may have erred in starting Richardson too early, it’s entirely possible they’ve recognized that mistake and pulled the plug before it got even worse. And because Richardson has been so vulnerable to injury, it’s better to make the move now while he’s still healthy enough to be a factor.
“Sitting him down is not an admission (that Richardson is) a bust,” the first executive said. “How many games has the guy truly played? And the expectation is that he should be the face of the franchise? You’re asking a lot of somebody who hasn’t played a whole lot of football to go in there and process at an NFL level.”
The Colts have to make this time on the bench worth it, though. They’ve got to refine Richardson’s mechanics to help his accuracy. He hasn’t been layering throws with touch to all levels, either due to processing speed, mechanics or any number of factors. And when he’s under duress, executives have noticed Richardson’s fundamentals have regressed.
“(Before the draft, teams recognized) there was always a developmental aspect of the player,” the first executive said. “They played him too early. If they could do it over, they probably would have sat him as a rookie.”
The optics may not be great right now. The Colts and Richardson have a lot of work to do to get him ready to succeed at an NFL level.
For the Colts to change the narrative, they have to tap into those improvements to get Richardson ready to play at an NFL level.
“(Richardson) has elite physical tools and ability,” the first executive said. “The decision-making on the field, the reads on the field, accuracy, layering throws, that all has to catch up. I think they’re doing the smart thing (by sitting him). You also don’t want him to keep getting hurt. You don’t want to break the kid.”
(Photo illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; photo: Jack Gorman / Getty Images)
