Anthony Richardson has not had the smoothest start to his NFL career. After a recent benching in favor of veteran backup Joe Flacco, many teams have reportedly reached out to Indianapolis in hopes of acquiring the 22-year-old passer. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, “a trade is considered unlikely.” 
There are several factors that contributed to the benching of Richardson. League-low completion percentages on passes when not pressured, under pressure, not blitzed, blitzed, and to open targets have brought many questions concerning his ability as a passer to the surface. Additionally, there has been a continuation of draft concerns over his medical history after seeing him miss all but four games his rookie season and miss two games this year with injury.
The Colts’ decision to move forward with Flacco as the team’s starter could be for two reasons: they believe Flacco provides them the best chance to win games this year or they did not want to force Richardson to continue broadcasting his struggles on national television. Regardless, an admission to tapping out of last week’s game due to exhaustion was viewed as a “last straw” for the Colts, ultimately leading Richardson to the bench.
While protecting the feelings of a quarterback may seem like an unsatisfactory reasoning, it’s something we’ve seen in the NFL before. For rookies, franchises want to build confidence in their young passers, getting them snaps early to help acquaint them with the speed of the pro game. Sometimes, when a young quarterback is struggling in a game and the team is down bad, we see the backup come in. This serves the purpose of keeping the younger passer healthy, while protecting his confidence from getting broken by a team that has already gotten the better of him.
Similarly, some pundits, like Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, assert that the Colts could be protecting Richardson from a potential disastrous matchup with the Vikings on a national stage for Sunday Night Football tonight. If they truly don’t want to give up on Richardson as the future of their franchise, they may have a vested interest in keeping his confidence high by avoiding tough matchups.
It does seem, too, that the Colts have not given up on Richardson’s long-term development. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, in a meeting with team brass, Richardson was given examples like Jordan Love and Alex Smith — quarterbacks who found their stride in the NFL after years. His team hasn’t given up on him either as offensive and defensive captains, guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, both expressed views that the locker room believes in Richardson’s development moving forward, according to ESPN’s Stephen Holder.
Around the league, many other team executives are calling the Colts’ decision-making into question. Some are using hindsight to say the right decision would’ve been to keep Richardson on the bench as a rookie, not rushing him onto the field and allowing him to develop on the bench, per Jeff Howe of The Athletic. Others are pointing out that, while playing Flacco may give them a better chance to win right now, benching Richardson is short-sighted when considering future seasons.
This seems to be a microcosm of a bigger issue in the NFL with quarterback development. Along with Bryce Young in Carolina, Richardson is the second top 2023-drafted quarterback to get benched this season for a seasoned veteran. Especially as veteran quarterbacks who faltered early in their careers, like Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, and even Justin Fields, find success in more fitting systems after years of development, we’re starting to see a return to thinking in the NFL that perhaps it’s best for rookies to sit and learn.
For now, that seems to be the intention in Indianapolis. The grizzled veteran Flacco is set to take the reins of the offense tonight. Richardson will have an opportunity to get fully healthy while watching and learning from a Super Bowl winning quarterback who has worked with five different teams in his career. This benching shouldn’t be perceived as the end of Richardson’s opportunity as a starter. Many believe that he will take his place with a first-team offense under center again at some point in time, and there are still some who believe that it will occur in Indianapolis.
Duh?
Why would he lmao
Why would anyone sell low this fast? Nonsense.
What team would be dumb enough to want to trade for him at all? Raiders? Jets if Rodgers retires?
Our instant gratification society doesn’t translate to QB development. If they thought they drafted the next Manning or Luck, they’re dreaming.
Peyton led the league in Ints his first year (28).
Brady didn’t win his first MVP until year 8.
Richardson has a lot of issues in his game, but isn’t that what they pay OCs to work around? Personally he has always looked like a Justin Fields-type to me, but you can probably win 9 or 10 games with him if he is given a game plan that fits his abilities.
Speaking of the Colts, expect their Week 10 game against the Jets to be flexed out of Sunday night. Jets have not yet advertised tickets for that game pending a potential flex.
24 total games in college drafted after one good but less than spectacular season….uses his legs before his head because he’s woefully not ready for prime time….all that does is speed up the injury timeline….
Being a Vikings fan (and of ardent belief Richardson will flop) I was able to see him and his personality during last nights game. Maybe he’ll be alright, seems willing to learn and above all a team fiat guy. Sitting behind Flacco might help his development.
Team first*
My God, you’d want him?
Who would want him??? He’s tired…oboy he should be a raider
Like always, it depends on the price. Some QBs develop, but often enough, not in the time frame for the team that drafted them.
And more often than not, holding them just decreases their value.
Still, as a Raiders fan, I’d still trade a 3rd rounder for him and sit him the rest of the season.
At some point, you wonder about scouting departments. I know it’s a coin flip about whether guys pan out or not but using top picks on guys like this, Pickett and others makes it incumbent that you’d better not be wrong, because the implications are massive
Who would want one of the smurfs unless he’s changing positions
I’ll give you 2 bags of sunflower seeds, a football signed by Tom Brady’s next door neighbor and some leftover Dominoes pizza for him.
GB will acquire him next summer, he’ll go 11-17 for 168 yards and a TD against 4th stringers in a preseason game, and a bunch of highly intelligent GB fans will insist he’s the new QB1 (after recovering from the trade of Willis to LV for a 5th rd pick..) and future HOF’er.