No subs: Colts QB Anthony Richardson learns a hard lesson off the bench

The title Anthony Richardson had in the locker room on Sunday as the Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback is not the title he will have now.

Just 10 games into his NFL career, Richardson was benched and his future in Indianapolis is bleaker than ever. The Colts will start Joe Flacco on Sunday night in Minnesota, league sources said Tuesday. They chose the 39-year-old former Super Bowl MVP turned NFL journeyman over the 22-year-old dual-threat signal-caller who was supposed to become a pillar of the franchise.

Is the Richardson era over in Indy?

“Not at all,” a league source said The athlete. The hope is that Richardson will sit behind Flacco, learn and grow before becoming the team's starting quarterback again. But when – or even if – that happens remains to be seen.

“If he handles this the right way, he'll be fine,” a league source said, and the team believes he'll be able to do that with Richardson's mental toughness. The second-year pro will surely be disappointed. Injury limited him to four games in his rookie year, and he only exceeded that total by two that year before the Colts ended his tenure as a starter.

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As Richardson slides down the depth chart, his character will be tested – a character he is still developing.

Fair or not, the resounding image of Richardson's time in Indianapolis is not when he tapped himself on the back after a season-ending AC sprain in October 2023, but when he tapped his helmet in the third quarter of a crucial divisional game last week and asked to be substituted because he was “tired” after the scramble.

“Tired, I’m not going to lie,” Richardson said after the game. “That was a lot of running I did and I didn't think I would make it the next game. So I just told (Colts coach Shane Steichen) I needed a break right there.”

Richardson's explanation made him seem out of sorts at best. At worst, it made him look like a quitter.

Colts center Ryan Kelly, the team's longest-serving player, had a conversation with Richardson. Steichen did it too. None of them agreed with Richardson waving the white flag at that moment, even if it was just for one play.

“He knows that you can’t do deals like this yourself,” Steichen said.

Maybe Richardson should have lied. Perhaps it would have been wiser to say that he was running out of breath, feeling light-headed, or that his previous oblique injury had flared up again. Almost anything would have been better than admitting that he came out because he was tired. But since he wasn't lying, his honest yet naive response that he needed a breather was met with a wave of criticism in the NFL world that Kelly felt was fair.

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Steichen said Monday that Richardson's departure was not a factor in the team's decision to reevaluate who the Colts' starting quarterback will be. A league source later confirmed that the decision to bench Richardson, whose 44.4 completion percentage ranks last among qualified QBs in the NFL and is the worst of all QBs with at least 100 passes since 2013, his performance on the field.

The real reason Anthony Richardson was benched

His play on the field was NOT great, but I think that has a lot more to do with him taking a step back and learning how to be a professional. Flacco gives them the best chance to win NOW.

All 22 QB Breakdown: Anthony Richardson pic.twitter.com/hm8YACleuX

— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) October 29, 2024

But his teammates also “see everything,” a league source said. It was still Richardson's job to know better, never give in and – above all – remember that his status as QB1 is not a given.

“I have all the confidence in the world in AR,” linebacker EJ Speed ​​said Monday. “We're sitting at .500 and we want to get above .500 next week and make a playoff push, and I'm sure everyone will shut up then.”

Speed ​​is right. The quickest way to silence everyone is to play well and win. However, Richardson was robbed of the chance to do so while also rebuilding his reputation among his peers. He has to take the long road and prove behind the scenes that he will never take his role for granted again.

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The man replacing him certainly didn't.

Flacco is 17 years into an NFL career that has included the highest peaks and some low valleys. He won a Super Bowl and was the face of a franchise, and he left the NFL looking for work. After filling in for Richardson in Week 2 while Richardson suffered a right oblique muscle injury, Flacco spoke candidly about the last time he was in Richardson's shoes as starting QB — and the ordeal that seemed to have been skipped overnight to become.

“It was my last year in Baltimore. I hurt my hip and, man, I didn't want to leave Lamar (Jackson) out of there. That's for sure. That was My team,Flacco said. “And that was mentally very hard for me. I pushed it as far as I could and tried to convince them to let me go out and play.”

#Colts QB Joe Flacco, asked if Anthony Richardson is prioritizing his health:

“I was in this place once. It was my last year in Baltimore. I hurt my hip and, man, I didn't want Lamar (Jackson) to come out of there. That's for sure. That was my team and that was very difficult. …” pic.twitter.com/GKIdFtACeY

– James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 7, 2024

The situation Flacco found himself in with Jackson, the later two-time league MVP, breathing down his neck is not the same as the one Flacco finds himself in six years later. But the fact that he still remembers the pain and heartache of not playing every snap during his tenure in Baltimore still bothers him, and that's a lesson Richardson will have to learn the hard way during his demotion.

Jackson was supposed to replace Flacco at some point since the Ravens drafted him in the first round, but Flacco didn't help them by making a playoff because he needed to breathe. The only reason he didn't take every snap was because he wasn't physically able to, and by the time he was able, the keys to the offense had already been taken away from him and given to someone else.

Maybe Richardson will get another chance as a starter in Indianapolis, maybe not. But no matter where he takes his next snaps, he probably won't be heading to the bench when his lungs start to burn.

(Photo: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)