Former Indianapolis Colts’ center and interim head coach Jeff Saturday, who is now with ESPN, made an appearance on the ‘Dominique Foxworth Show’ and was asked about how the team has handled the benching of quarterback Anthony Richardson.
In short, and as Saturday put it, he’s not a fan.
“Not a fan,” Saturday said via the Indy Star.
“If you didn’t like his preparation coming up to the season, why did you play him again this season? None of that makes sense to me,” he said. “It makes it easy to say it now that you’ve benched him.”
In large part, and as Shane Steichen put it, the decision was made because Joe Flacco gives the team the best chance to win, with the Colts still in the AFC playoff mix. The last time the Colts made the playoffs was in 2020.
“Somebody is protecting a job somewhere,” added Saturday.
Even if Flacco gives the Colts the best chance to win right now as Richardson still navigates the steep learning curve that comes with being a young NFL quarterback, what’s the best case scenario for the Colts in this situation?
They get to nine, maybe 10 wins, get into the playoffs as the seven seed, or maybe the six seed? I think we can all agree that this isn’t a team that’s in the Super Bowl contender category.
Then what about next offseason? Flacco will turn 40 years old, and Richardson, who needs experience and live reps, will enter his third NFL season with still only 10 career starts?
That doesn’t exactly sound like a recipe for long-term success, but instead puts the Colts at the quarterback crossroads once again.
The organization has said that they aren’t giving up on Richardson and believe that taking a step back can be beneficial for him. In theory, that sounds good when a young quarterback is struggling, however, history suggests that this isn’t how things are going to play out.
“Best case scenario for the Colts,” said Saturday, “you find your way into the playoffs and you’re drafting (late in the first round), are you getting better? Is Richardson getting better? Is (Joe Flacco) your starter next year?,” he said. “What’s the long-term vision for the franchise?”
