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Stephen Holder, ESPN
The Indianapolis Colts are benching Anthony Richardson and turning to Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback, sources tell ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Adam Schefter.
Colts coaches met Tuesday morning and ultimately decided to change quarterbacks, sources told Fowler and Schefter, opting for Flacco over the struggling Richardson.
The benching came two days after Richardson asked to sit out Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans for one play because, as he later told reporters, he “was tired.”
Colts coach Shane Steichen said Monday he was evaluating the team’s quarterback situation, adding that Richardson’s request to withdraw from the game would not be a factor in his decision.
Internally, the Colts maintain that Richardson’s time as their franchise quarterback is not over.
A team source called the benching a “growth opportunity” and also insisted the Colts are “not giving up on Anthony.”
“It will be the story, but it’s not,” the source told ESPN.
Richardson, even in year two with the Colts, remained the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL at 22 years old. He was drafted before his 21st birthday and after just 13 starts at the University of Florida.
The Colts had insisted that Richardson needed to play to grow as a player, which motivated their decision to start him as a rookie. He was named the starter against Gardner Minshew in training camp in 2023 after just one preseason game.
The move to Richardson on the bench therefore marks a significant shift from the organization’s previous thinking.
“Taking a step back can be a good thing,” the team source said.
A source close to Richardson described him as being hit hard by the news. But this source also indicated that Richardson would handle the demotion professionally and would be ready if asked.
Richardson completed just 10 of 32 passes for 175 yards in Sunday’s loss at Houston. He told Steichen he “needed a break there” as he left the game in the third quarter, tapping his helmet.
The No. 4 pick in last year’s draft, Richardson has a 44.4 percent completion rate this season, which is fifth-worst in a player’s first six games of a season since 2000, according to ESPN Research.
Steichen did not defend Richardson’s decision to leave the game, saying Monday that he had a private conversation with the second-year quarterback and adding that “you can’t opt out, and it’s an experience learned for him and he must grow from it.”
Ryan Kelly, the longest-tenured player on the current team, said Richardson “knows this is not the level he needs to play at and the rest of the team holds him up to it.”
The Colts (4-4) will now turn to Flacco, 39, who replaced the injured Richardson earlier this season and threw for 716 yards, seven touchdowns and an interception in three games.
Richardson is the second quarterback selected in the first round of last year’s draft to be benched this season. The Carolina Panthers drafted first overall pick Bryce Young last month to replace veteran Andy Dalton.
