The Indianapolis Colts will have a new starting quarterback for their Week 9 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Colts are benching Anthony Richardson and will start veteran Joe Flacco for Sunday night’s game.
Schefter would add that the coaches met on Tuesday morning and decided to make the change.
On Monday when meeting with reporters, head coach Shane Steichen was asked if Richardson would be the starter this week, to which Steichen replied, “we’re evaluating everything.”
For what it’s worth, Steichen did also say that Richardson subbing himself out of Sunday’s game for a play because he was tired would not be a part of the decision-making process.
The Colts’ passing game has struggled mightily with Richardson under center in recent weeks and hit rock bottom on Sunday with him completing only two passes in the first half.
On the season, Richardson is completing only 44.4 percent of his throws–a league worst by a fairly wide margin–at 7.2 yards per attempt with four touchdowns to seven incompletions.
The Colts new coming into the season that the inexperienced Richardson would need time to develop, however, one of the more concerning aspects of all of this is that Richardson is not only not improving, but his play seems to be going backwards.
As I noted in a post-game article, while Richardson hasn’t been good, the stat line from Sunday’s game doesn’t tell the whole story either, and he’s also a young player who needs more help from his pass catchers and Steichen as the play-caller.
The Colts find themselves at a crossroads. Sitting at 4-4 on the season and facing one of the most aggressive defenses in football this week in Minnesota, they opted to go with Flacco who gives them a better chance to win in the moment. But when it comes to the long-term future of the organization, what Richardson needs right now is more reps.
(This article was updated to provide additional information.)
