Indianapolis Colts make huge Anthony Richardson call after honest admission

Anthony Richardson has been benched by the Indianapolis Colts, with caput manager Shane Steichen turning to seasoned Joe Flacco for Sunday's primetime clash against the Minnesota Vikings

Anthony Richardson has been benched by the Indianapolis Colts, with Joe Flacco stepping up arsenic the starting backmost for Sunday's primetime clash against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Colts are presently 4-4 and inactive successful contention for a playoff spot, but second-year QB Richardson's show has been acold from convincing. With a completion percent of conscionable 44.4 per cent crossed six starts this season, Richardson ranks arsenic the worst successful the NFL.

His mean of 159.7 yards per crippled besides places him successful the bottommost 3rd of quarterbacks, and helium has thrown a specified 4 touchdowns compared to 7 interceptions. These lacklustre performances person led caput manager Shane Steichen to marque a important change, elevating one-time Super Bowl champion Flacco to the starting lineup.

Flacco has featured successful 4 games truthful acold this season, throwing 7 touchdowns and conscionable 1 interception. The erstwhile Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns backmost guided the Colts to victories implicit the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans earlier Richardson returned to the lineup pursuing an oblique injury.

Richardson did himself nary favours successful Sunday's nonaccomplishment to the Houston Texans, removing himself from the crippled portion his discourtesy was successful the redzone. His coaches were acrophobic astir different injury, but the 2023 No.4 wide prime claimed it was owed to fatigue.

"Tired, I ain't gonna lie," helium conceded. "That was a batch of moving close determination that I did, and I didn't deliberation I was gonna beryllium capable to spell that adjacent play. So, I conscionable told [Steichen] I needed a interruption close there."

The brutally honorable infinitesimal drew crisp commentary from past players specified arsenic Colts icon Pat McAfee, who aired his views connected X, saying: "I had ne'er seen an NFL QB pat retired portion inactive being steadfast until watching Anthony Richardson. The QB is your franchise. The connection it sends is large and influential."

When asked connected Monday astir the backmost situation, Steichen acknowledged that the squad was "evaluating everything", hinting astatine a imaginable displacement successful position. True to his word, helium has swiftly shifted absorption towards Flacco's known accuracy and composure.

Despite Richardson's standout quality to tally and his awesome athleticism making him 1 of the astir breathtaking quarterbacks successful presumption of carnal capability, the young endowment from Florida has yet to make the refined accomplishment acceptable required for steadfast enactment arsenic an NFL starter.