Anthony Richardson threw 22 incompletions Sunday and took the rare step of asking out of a game due to fatigue. Viewed as a developmental player with a high ceiling, Richardson has not shown consistency since debuting in Week 1 of last season.

The Colts saw the 2023 No. 4 overall pick complete 10 of 32 passes (including 2-for-15 in the first half) against the Texans, and while they only lost to the AFC South leaders by three points, they have not seen Richardson make strides in Year 2. Richardson did not benefit much from his rookie year, seeing a shoulder injury end his season early, but the Colts are at least a wild-card contender in the AFC tied to an unreliable quarterback.

As it stands, Shane Steichen said Richardson remains Indianapolis’ starter. But the second-year Colts HC, responding to a question about Richardson’s Week 9 status, said (via ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder) the team is “evaluating everything.” The Colts have Joe Flacco in place as their backup and used the 39-year-old veteran in two starts while Richardson rehabbed an oblique injury. The Colts kept Richardson in their lineup after struggles before his oblique issue; they appear to be giving stronger consideration to taking the other route now.

For the season, Richardson has completed an astonishing 44.4% of his passes. That is the fifth-lowest number through six games since 2000, per ESPN Stats and Info. Richardson was at 59.5% before going down last season. The Florida product is still 3-3 as a starter who has averaged 7.2 yards per attempt, but he ranks 27th in QBR and last among qualified options in passer rating. Flacco has completed 65.7% of his throws while filling in this season, throwing seven touchdown passes compared to one interception.

Richardson exited Week 8 with a 4-to-7 TD-INT ratio. The highly touted prospect has 242 rushing yards but has completed 10 or fewer passes in four of the five games he finished this season, significantly hindering Indianapolis’ offense. Both Steichen and center Ryan Kelly spoke to the QB after his decision to tap out for a play following a scramble in Houston. It would stand to reason that will be factored into Steichen’s Richardson-or-Flacco decision for Week 9.

“We had a conversation about it this morning in the quarterback room, which I’ll keep private,” Steichen said. “But, obviously, in those situations he knows on those type of deals, you can’t take yourself out and it’s a learned experience for him and he’s got to grow from it.”

Still just 22, Richardson came to Indianapolis after starting one season at Florida. While dazzling at the 2023 Combine, the 6-foot-4, 244-pound passer also struggled with accuracy with the Gators. He completed less than 54% of his throws during the 2022 season. The Colts will need to balance Richardson’s long-term development with a chance to make the playoffs. Steichen had previously said Richardson needed playing time to improve. The former Eagles OC stepped back a bit from that stance Monday.

“I think it could go either way,” Steichen said of a quarterback developing by playing or observing. “There’s certain [teams] that throw guys into the fire early and there’s other guys that let them sit back and watch. Like I’ve said before, the more you play, the more you learn at that position. But is there a benefit sometimes in sitting back and watching it? Yeah, of course there is.”

The fact that the Colts went from 2017-23 with seven different Week 1 starting QBs — tied for the second-longest stretch since the 1970 merger — and cycled through veterans post-Andrew Luck will undoubtedly factor into their decision as well, but Richardson is officially on notice. The Colts would be unlikely to go through with a benching that leaves Richardson’s long-term future in doubt, as the Panthers did with Bryce Young, but they would need to walk a fine line if they sit their prospect midway through his second season.

OCTOBER 5: After practicing on a limited basis during the week, Richardson was initially listed as questionable. He was downgraded to doubtful on Saturday, however, suggesting Flacco will be in line to make his first start since signing with Indianapolis.

SEPTEMBER 30: Anthony Richardson was forced out of yesterday’s game with a hip injury, but there’s a chance the Colts quarterback doesn’t even miss Week 5. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Richardson was diagnosed with oblique and abdominal strains, and the QB has “a shot to play” on Sunday against the Jaguars.

[RELATED: Colts’ Anthony Richardson Leaves Game With Injury]

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport echoes this report, noting that Richardson’s injury isn’t believed to be serious. In fact, Rapoport says the quarterback likely would have returned to the game had it been the playoffs or a crucial, late-season contest. We heard something similar yesterday, as Richardson told reporters that he attempted to return to the contest again but was overruled by head coach Shane Steichen.

Richardson suffered his injury during the second drive of yesterday’s game. The former fourth-overall pick was only sidelined for a pair of plays before returning to the contest. The quarterback took another shot on the subsequent snap, knocking him out of the contest for good.

Despite Richardson’s inconsistent play to begin the 2024 campaign, Colts fans have surely been holding their breath over the past 24 hours. Richardson was limited to only four games as a rookie. He first missed a game due to a concussion, and he later suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Richardson was dynamic in his return to the field in Week 1 of this season, tossing a pair of touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. However, between Week 2 and Week 3, he completed only 50 percent of his passes while tossing five interceptions.

Fortunately for the Colts, the team has one of the top contingency plans in veteran Joe Flacco. The 39-year-old made his season debut in relief of Richardson yesterday, completing 16 of his 26 pass attempts for 168 yards and two touchdowns in a Colts victory.

The Colts’ frustrations with the quarterback position continued today when starter Anthony Richardson exited today’s game with a hip injury. The second-year passer out of Florida hopes not to miss much time, if any, per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network, and he will be evaluated throughout the week.

Richardson actually left the game twice today. Early in the team’s second drive of the game, Richardson walked off the field after hurting his hip. Veteran backup quarterback Joe Flacco stepped in for two plays before Richardson returned to the game. Inexplicably, Richardson’s first play back on the field was a read-option keeper that immediately saw the young quarterback take another shot and, once again, exit with injury.

Luckily for the Colts, Flacco showed up in much the same manner as he did as an emergency starter for the Browns last season, throwing two touchdowns en route to a victory over his old division-rival Steelers. Flacco was signed to a one-year, $4.5MM deal to come to Indianapolis over the offseason due to injuries Richardson sustained in 2023.

Richardson started four of five games to open his rookie season before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. For the remainder of the year, the team relied on Gardner Minshew, who performed admirably enough to earn a Pro Bowl bid but wasn’t able to get the Colts to the playoffs. Keeping in mind the injury history and lack of starting experience of Richardson, it made sense for Indianapolis to bring in an experienced, veteran option like Flacco.

Moving forward, it sounds like Richardson will be looking to continue in his starting role without missing any time. In fact, he told reporters today that he attempted to return to the game again today, but head coach Shane Steichen overruled him since he wasn’t 100 percent, per ESPN’s Stephen Holder. While the Colts will hope to see him return soon, the team knows now that Flacco has the ability to step up and win games off the bench, if necessary.

Anthony Richardson has shown flashes during his second year in the NFL, but he still faces a steep development curve. The Colts do not appear to be preparing a change at the QB depth chart in the wake of his inconsistent start to the year.

Last year’s fourth overall pick is set to remain atop the depth chart for at least “a while,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes. The Colts made it clear during the 2023 offseason that a young signal-caller would be targeted in lieu of another shot-term veteran addition. That resulted in Richardson being selected, but his rookie campaign was limited to only four games.

Expectations were nevertheless high for the 22-year-old individually and Indianapolis in general entering 2024. Head coach Shane Steichen – hired in no small part for his success in developing Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts during his Chargers and Eagles tenures – has remained confident in Richardson’s potential over the short- and long-term future. The first three weeks of the season have been marked by accuracy issues and inconsistent decision-making, however.

Richardson’s completion percentage sits at just 49.3% on the season, and his six interceptions lead the league. The Florida product (who saw limited starts in college) has remained effective on the ground with 117 rushing yards and one touchdown, and his arm strength has been on display this year (16.2 yards per completion average, the highest in the NFL). Sitting Richardson for a stretch – as the Panthers are currently doing with Bryce Young – could allow for a reset, although such a move should not be expected.

The Colts signed Joe Flacco as their backup in the offseason, adding the former Super Bowl MVP after his surprisingly successful run at the end of last season in Cleveland. That stretch demonstrated the 39-year-old’s ability to remain productive at this stage of his career, and a Richardson injury would thrust Flacco into the lineup just as Gardner Minshew was last year. For the time being, though, Richardson will remain in place as the team aims to continue developing him while rebounding from a 1-2 start.

The Colts rolled into the 2023 NFL season looking forward to No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson leading their team as the quarterback of the future. Unfortunately, just over a month into the season, the Florida rookie underwent season-ending shoulder surgery with only four starts under his belt. On The GM Shuffle podcast this week, Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard gave the most recent update to Richardson’s health.

Since the initial injury news, we’ve seen an in-season update confirming that Richardson would not require a second surgery to repair his AC joint injury and an update in February that he had started throwing again, shortly after the conclusion of the postseason. Most recently, we heard at the end of March that the 22-year-old was on track to participate in spring practices.

Richardson was, indeed, able to participate this spring. He was reportedly a full participant in organized team activities recently, only minimizing his workload on the final day of OTAs after two heavy throwing sessions in the days before. He was even a reported full participant on Day 1 of minicamp, though he left Day 2 early and was not in attendance on Day 3.

Reports have come in that Richardson’s lack of participation was due to shoulder soreness. While that’s reasonably understandable following two days of heavy throwing, it’s still a bit of a concern following the nature of Richardson’s injury.

Despite the implication that such soreness and reserved participation point to his injury not being 100 percent healed, head coach Shane Steichen and Richardson himself both insist that his absence was merely a precaution. The Colts maintain that Richardson’s soreness and lack of participation at the end of minicamp will have no impact on Richardson’s participation in training camp. The second-year passer is expected to be “full go” at camp this summer.

The offense around Richardson will look much the same upon his return. The main differences are that, after minimal work with All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor as a rookie, the two should get to share the field a bit more in 2024. Additionally, Richardson will have a new target in second-round receiver Adonai Mitchell. He’ll also have a new mentor as the Colts essentially exchanged primary backup quarterback Gardner Minshew for veteran Joe Flacco, both of whom served their teams well in injury replacement duty last year.