Anthony Richardson was always seen as a boom-or-bust project — and he has officially busted.
When one of the best head coaches and quarterback whisperers gives up on you, that speaks volumes. On Oct. 30, the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Shane Steichen, announced that Richardson would be benched in favor of veteran Joe Flacco. The move was controversial, of course, but it’s the right move because — in all honesty — Richardson should have never been a Colt in the first place.
Richardson played his college ball at the University of Florida — and let’s just say his career there was shaky at best. While there, he only started 13 games in three seasons, which should have been a red flag to any NFL team. Richardson redshirted in 2020, backed up Emory Jones as a redshirt freshman in 2021 and finally earned the starting quarterback job in 2022. In 2021, he wasn’t able to beat out Emory Jones, who went undrafted and recently was cut by the Baltimore Ravens — another red flag. When he finally did play at Florida in 2022, he was underwhelming. Richardson finished his last season at Florida with 2,549 passing yards and 17 touchdowns for an average of 212.42 yards per game with a completion percentage of 53 percent. On the bright side, he had the second-most rushing touchdowns on the team with nine. Outside of his running ability, his throwing ability was another red flag — but the biggest red flag was the injuries.
Richardson has been injury-prone his whole life, and most QBs can get away with that —but not when they are a dual threat. At Florida, he tore his meniscus, which cost him a year, and he also missed time with a concussion. Those injury woes have followed him and plagued him professionally, too. Richardson was drafted more than a season and a half ago, but he’s only started 10 games. He suffered a concussion in week 2 last year that made him miss one game. Little did the Colts know they would lose him for the entire season two weeks later the week after an injury to the A/C joint in his right shoulder that would require season-ending surgery.
Lastly, for Steichen to bench you for the remainder of the season is another huge red flag. The reason the Colts drafted you was because they knew they had Steichen in-house. The whole reason they drafted Richardson was because they believed he could be the next Josh Allen. And who was the coach that fixed Josh Allen after his bad rookie season? Shane Steichen. After only 10 weeks, for Steichen to give up on you —not only for a game but for the rest of your sophomore season — is not a good look at all. He’s at his wit’s end with Richardson, and he’s essentially washing his hands clean of him.
Two things can be true at once. Richardson can maybe be a franchise quarterback for a team one day, but he was never supposed to be the quarterback of the Colts. Based on his injury history, his subpar college career and all the time he would need to be developed, there was no way he should have been drafted number four overall. The Colts fell for the hype. They fell for the muscles. They fell for the potential Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen comparisons. Lamar was a Heisman winner, and Allen never looked this bad; those comparisons were never realistic. It’s unfortunate for the young QB that this early in Richardson’s career that he has already been benched — but it’s better to realize your mistakes early and move on instead of doubling down on them.
