The Indianapolis Colts have made the decision to bench their former 4th overall pick and hand the keys over to former Super Bowl winner Joe Flacco.
Life in the NFL comes at you about as fast as a Will Anderson sack, just ask Anthony Richardson. Anderson and Richardson are inextricably tied as the ladder was drafted one pick before the former in the 2023 draft. More recently Anderson was the Texans top defensive player in a 23-20 win over the Colts, while Richardson’s continued struggles at QB ultimately caused the coaches to bench him.
Whether Richardson’s struggles classify as a textbook example of the Sophomore Slump or an indicator of his ability to quarterback at the NFL level has been heavily debated the past 8 weeks. By the numbers, Richardson is QB 30 or worse in nearly all QB throwing stats: Yards/game, touchdowns, completion percent, throwing yards (#29 actually)…the list goes on. He is top 12 in interceptions though, as well as all QB rushing metrics. Meanwhile Flacco’s lowest completion percentage this season (57.9 week 6 vs Tennessee) is higher than Richardson’s highest in a full game this year (50% week 2 vs Green Bay).
Aside from the metrics, the final straw may have come in an odd moment in the 3rd quarter week 8 in which Richardson took himself out of the game for a play. When asked if it was injury related he cited being tired and needing a breather. Perhaps Shane Steichen is getting tired of the underperformance?
Fantasy wise through the first 8 weeks Flacco has favored Josh Downs and Michael Pittman. Downs has 30 targets/24 catches/217 yards in 3 weeks with Flacco vs 17/8/134 in 3 with Richardson. Michael Pittman had 22 targets/14 catches /185 yards in 3 weeks with Flacco vs 31/15/167 in 5 games with Richardson. Alec Pierce enjoyed his time with Richardson more, while Jonathan Taylor and Adoni Mitchell were neutral.
Lukasz Stec, @Lukasz_FF01