Colts Need to Start Anthony Richardson for the Rest of the Season

Who would you start: Anthony Richardson or Joe Flacco? It has become the NFL’s biggest quarterback controversy. Some Indianapolis Colts fans want Richardson under center, while others prefer Flacco. Richardson is young and inexperienced but possesses a ton of potential. And meanwhile, Flacco is the old veteran who has all the experience in the world.

Richardson began this season as Indy’s starter. But, of course, he was benched last week in favor of Flacco.

Frankly, there shouldn’t be a quarterback controversy in Indianapolis. The smart move for the Colts is to stick with Richardson for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.

The Colts Need to Start Anthony Richardson for the Rest of the Season

Flacco Gives the Team the Best Chance to Win, but So What?

Colts head coach Shane Steichen gave his explanation on why Richardson was benched, via colts.com:

“Tough decision, but one I felt was in the best interest of our football team,” Steichen said. “Feel that Joe gives us the best chance to win right now.”

Steichen is right. Flacco does give the Colts a better chance to win games than Richardson does. Without a doubt, Flacco is a better quarterback than Richardson is right now.

Flacco is a lot more accurate. Plus, he has been an NFL signal-caller for 17 years. He’s known for winning a Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP back in the day with the Baltimore Ravens. Then he went out and won Comeback Player of the Year honors last season, helping the Cleveland Browns make the playoffs.

With Flacco starting, the Colts have a shot, but not a great shot, at reaching the playoffs this season. However, they’re not going to make a deep playoff run. The 39-year-old Flacco isn’t going to take this team to a Super Bowl. So there’s no point in stunting the development of Richardson while trying to barely sneak into the playoffs and lose in the wildcard round.

Make This a Developmental Season for Richardson

The Colts drafted Richardson fourth overall in 2023. He was supposed to become the franchise quarterback the team had been looking for since Andrew Luck’s retirement. Yet, Richardson hasn’t had an impressive start to his career. The Florida product missed most of his rookie season due to a shoulder injury. He has missed time this year as well due to a hip injury.

When healthy, Richardson has been extremely inaccurate this year. He has completed just 44.4% of his passes (worst in the league). He has also thrown four touchdowns and seven interceptions. Throw in his “tapping out because he was tired” incident, and it’s no wonder why he was benched.

However, the Colts need to start Richardson for the rest of the season. If he doesn’t show any improvement by the end of the year, the team can decide in the offseason whether or not to keep him or part ways. Richardson has the potential to be a star. That’s why Indianapolis needs to stick with him and develop the 22-year-old. Not every quarterback will have an instant impact like C.J. Stroud or Jayden Daniels. Sometimes it takes a while.