Going to Flacco over Richardson helps Colts win now, coach says

INDIANAPOLIS — Colts coach Shane Steichen said Wednesday that the decision to bench quarterback Anthony Richardson was his choice and was prompted by a belief that veteran Joe Flacco “gives us the best chance to win right now.”

Steichen on Wednesday defended his decision to replace Richardson, the No. 4 draft pick in 2023, after just 10 career starts (six this season) and while his team has a 4-4 record.

Asked whether he wrestled with balancing the future implications of the decision — Richardson is supposed to be the team’s long-term quarterback — versus the team’s present realities, Steichen said he did struggle to work through it all.

“It’s a difficult thing,” he said. “But it’s my obligation to the 53 guys in this organization to win football games, and right now, I’m focused on the present: winning football games. We’ll get to the future when we have to get to the future.”

Meanwhile, Richardson was left to process the decision. He said Steichen informed him in a meeting Tuesday morning of the decision.

“Of course, it hurts as a competitor,” he said. “Definitely don’t want to be told you’re not the guy anymore for the upcoming week. But it’s all good. Using this moment as an opportunity to grow and just learn from my mistakes.”

Flacco, who now takes over with Sunday night’s road game against the Minnesota Vikings, had mixed emotions. He is embracing the opportunity to play again, but also knows that coping with the decision will be difficult for Richardson.

“The thing we’ve got to remember here is Anthony’s really young,” Flacco said. “I know that when I was that young, there’s no chance that I would’ve been able to have the perspective and just the right head on my shoulders to handle it and take it the right way. But now being this is my 17th year, I do have that perspective.”

Richardson, 22, has a 44.4% completion rate this season, which is the fifth worst in a player’s first six games of a season since 2000, according to ESPN Research.

Flacco, 39, replaced Richardson when he was injured earlier this season and passed for 716 yards, 7 touchdowns and one interception in parts of three games, when the Colts went 2-1.

The decision was a dramatic about-face for the Colts. Steichen, general manager Chris Ballard and owner Jim Irsay each said after Richardson was selected that playing and gaining valuable experience was the fastest route to getting him to improve. He arrived in Indianapolis tied with Mitchell Trubisky for the fewest college starts (13) of any quarterback drafted in the first round. Trubisky was drafted No. 2 in 2017.

“I know I said that,” Steichen said. “Things change. So, I think right now, sitting back and seeing a veteran that’s done it at a high level for a long time, you can develop that way as well.”

As for what’s next for Richardson, Steichen admitted he could not offer assurances Richardson would get again get the chance to reclaim his role as the franchise quarterback — something that rarely happens after young quarterbacks are benched.

“You just go through the process,” Steichen said. “I can’t predict the future. I really can’t. But we’re not losing faith in him. And, so, this will be a time for him to keep developing as a pro and we’ll see where it goes.”

Steichen reiterated that Richardson’s decision to tap out for one play during Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans was not a factor in his personnel decisions. Richardson told reporters after the game he briefly left the game because he was “tired” after scrambling the two previous plays.

“It didn’t [come into play],” Steichen said. “He knows he can’t do that in that situation. That’s part of the growth and the development process that we go through. And, again, I think [Flacco] gives us the best chance right now going forward.”

Addressing that play for the first time since his admission on Sunday, Richardson said, “I know I can’t do that as a leader, especially as a quarterback of this team and especially as a football player in general… You live and you learn.”

Richardson, according to teammates, did not lose the locker room’s support as a result of the much-scrutinized decision to leave the game.

“When you lose a big game, things like that are extremely magnified and just a tough situation for a young player,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said.

Receiver Josh Downs added, “Everybody’s really blowing it out of proportion in my opinion. I understand where he was coming from and I know in that moment, he wasn’t really thinking when he [admitted] it. He wasn’t really trying to mean any harm.”

Meanwhile, teammates seemed blindsided by the quarterback decision. They began learning of the news on social media on Tuesday, setting off a flurry of texts and phone calls.

“It was kind of shocking,” receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. “It caught me off guard. The good and bad thing about football is there’s an opportunity for everybody. I don’t think this over. I mean, I think [Richardson] is going to come back better from this.”

Franklin said: “I still believe he is the future of his team. I know that sounds crazy to everybody right now, but that’s something I still fullheartedly believe, that he’s the future of the Indianapolis Colts.”