Report: Colts benched Richardson to get him more invested

The Indianapolis Colts wanted to give Anthony Richardson a wake-up call by benching the second-year quarterback for veteran Joe Flacco, ESPN's Stephen Holder reports.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen made the quarterback change two weeks ago in an effort to get Richardson's attention, a source told Holder.

The 2023 No. 4 pick was apparently unaware of the expectations around a franchise QB in the NFL. He was also described as "naive," not resistant, and the rumors about character concerns were never accurate, Holder adds.

In particular, the Colts reportedly wanted Richardson to invest more time into the job. The young passer has responded by reportedly arriving to work earlier in recent weeks, going to the team facility around 5:30 a.m. to get an early start on film study.

Richardson entered the NFL as a long-term project. He started only 10 games in one-plus season in the league before his benching stole headlines Oct. 29. Steichen explained the change by saying Flacco gave the team "the best chance to win" at the time.

The decision to sit the 22-year-old came after he went viral for coming out of a play on a third-and-goal in a loss to the Houston Texans. Richardson also hasn't been able to improve his accuracy in the NFL, as he's completed just 44.4% of his pass attempts in 2024.

The Florida product said Wednesday he was "low-key glad" about his benching, as the past few weeks opened his eyes.

The Colts went back to Richardson as the QB1 for the remainder of the season after losing two games with the 39-year-old Flacco. He threw only two touchdowns against four interceptions in his two most recent starts.

The 4-6 Colts will try to snap a three-game skid as they visit the New York Jets on Sunday.