Anthony Richardson’s benching goes far beyond his play: ‘A fascinating management dilemma’

The Indianapolis Colts’ decision to replace young franchise quarterback Anthony Richardson with 39-year-old Joe Flacco offers a glimpse into a poorly understood NFL world.

The decision doesn’t make sense on its face, as Richardson has only started 10 games, including six this season, and the variability in his play has been predictable. The organization at every level knew when drafting Richardson at No. 4 in 2023 that he would alternate between sensational and confusing plays while hopefully figuring out how to play the position after playing just 13 games in college.

The team has a 5-5 record in Richardson’s starts, better than the 4-6 average of the last 130 quarterbacks who made their first 10 starts, according to TruMedia. Richardson’s 10-game stats mirror those of Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen to the same point in Allen’s career.

These seemingly logical touchstones distract from the reality the Colts face. They’re not major parts of the equation Indianapolis is trying to solve.

“What a fascinating management dilemma to be in,” said a former executive of one of the Colts’ division rivals.

Richardson pulled himself from the team’s Week 8 game against the Houston Texans and then casually explained that he was tired and needed a breather, leaving the organization with an excruciating choice: bench Richardson, or even more credibility losing with a locker room that already knows the offense runs more efficiently with Flacco in the lineup.

Seemingly every former NFL coach and player with a platform has weighed in on how incredible it was for an NFL quarterback, as the face of the franchise, to casually take a break in the middle of a hard-fought divisional game.

“I can’t even think about you asking out of a game,” said former 12-year offensive lineman Damien Woody in his role as an ESPN analyst.

Woody’s response and many others like it reflect long-standing NFL sensitivities that Richardson may only now be beginning to understand.

“That position, rightly or wrongly, defines your entire team,” said a former high-ranking executive with extensive NFL playing experience. “And if he’s defined as that guy who raises his hand and comes out when the going gets tough, you can’t have that.”

Those unfamiliar with NFL team and locker room dynamics will point to comparisons like the 10-start comps for Richardson and the Bills’ Allen, suggesting Indianapolis is sacrificing the future for short-term gain. They don’t see any upside in riding Flacco to what could be a short-lived playoff run at best.

Those on the inside see things differently. For them, the Colts decided that the price of leaving Richardson in the lineup under these circumstances was higher than the price of replacing him. They chose to save the locker room now, hoping to save Richardson later, because they understand the tricky dynamics at work.

“If you bring him in now, you will lose everything,” said the former high-ranking director, “because you have sent the wrong message to your team and you have sent the wrong message to him, which is that his behavior is acceptable. He will never recover from it.”

Can Richardson recover now?

“It’s really hard to develop a quarterback who is so far behind in learning to play the position that he’s in a panic mode all the time,” said one personnel evaluator. “This child is really more of a project than a developmental player.”

Those who believed that when Richardson entered the draft believe it even more now. But if there was a decent chance of Richardson developing, that could still be the case.

“Maybe I’m naive,” said the former high-ranking executive, “but I think it’s doable, and if you do it, you’ll be better than ever.”

In other words, if Richardson has the qualities necessary to become a consistent performer and a true professional in what is perhaps the most challenging position in professional team sports, those qualities will ultimately prevail. But none of that will matter if he finds out early on that it’s okay to do what he did as the face of the Colts franchise.

“The players are the smartest in the building,” said a coach from another team. “They know how hard he practices. They know how much extra film he watches. They know how much he cares about you. They know it’s weird for a quarterback to leave a game, and they know it’s weird to say, “I needed a little break,” and not act like anything is wrong. They know he’s probably not ready to play yet.”

Richardson isn’t the first highly drafted young quarterback to end up on the bench early in his career, but he’s likely the first to lose his job under these specific circumstances. The Colts have denied that Richardson’s opt-out against the Texans played any role in the decision to bench him, which is understandable to them but not credible.

“If you cover him, you can do more damage,” said an executive from another team. “Those players know it. The fact that they saw it on TV, if you try to cover him you run the risk of splitting your team.”

And so the Colts’ quarterback adventures continue following the surprise retirement of Andrew Luck in 2019. What happened this week is the latest in a chain reaction of unplanned events:

• Luck retires, shocking the organization.

• Convinced the roster was primed to win, the Colts cycled through veteran stops Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan but lost ground.

• As frustration mounted, owner Jim Irsay snapped and replaced coach Frank Reich with former player Jeff Saturday before eventually hiring current coach Shane Steichen.

• General manager Chris Ballard, hired in 2017 and under increasing pressure to solve the post-Luck QB conundrum, took a risky shot at Richardson despite the QB’s thin resume.

• Steichen’s job was to maximize Richardson, but the quarterback kept getting injured in the process last season. Indy tried to find the right balance of usage this season, but Richardson was injured anyway, opening the door for Flacco to shine in relief, adding to the tension.

Then came kickoff in Houston, and here we are again, with the Colts in turmoil at the position where stability is everything, and with Richardson’s career somehow at a crossroads after just ten starts.

It’s a difficult situation. Even as Richardson gains a better understanding of his professional obligations, he still needs to prove he can stay healthy and pass accurately enough to win consistently.

“If you save him, you’ve done it,” the former high-ranking director said. “You brought him back out of nowhere. He’ll be better than ever. He’s seen how bad it can be and that makes him appreciate everything about being the man.

(Photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images)

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