“I’m thankful for these past two weeks and I’m lowkey glad it happened,” a grateful yet determined Anthony Richardson said.
The rollercoaster known as the Anthony Richardson experience has taken yet another hard turn, this time in favor of the young quarterback.
After the whirlwind that was the past few weeks, Richardson has been reinstated as the team’s starting quarterback for not just Week 11 but for the remainder of the 2024 season.
While the reason for his benching was expressed as Joe Flacco giving the Colts its best chance to win and not at all influenced by Richardson’s infamous play off, the previous claims and/or rumors that suggested a lack of professionalism led to the benching appear to be true.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen opened up Wednesday’s media availability with the bombshell of an elevation and provided a deeper explanation of the ‘process’ surrounding Richardson’s benching that he so frequently yet vaguely mentioned in recent weeks.
“I’ve said the process for a long time and what I mean by that is the attention to detail in everything that he does. From the classrooms, to the walkthroughs, to practice, to the weight room. All of those little things, right? It’s just got to be at a higher standard. That’s what was talked about, and that’s where we went with it. That was discussed with him two weeks ago, and those are the conversations that took place,” Steichen said.
“Over the last two weeks, he’s made strides over those areas, big-time strides, Becoming a pro’s pro. And is he a finished product? No, he’s not. And it’s my job to help him get there, along with the rest of the coaching staff, but he’s a hell of a talent. Like I’ve said, we’ve never lost faith or belief in him or his abilities. And he has shown strides, he really has… Everyone has a different journey. Everyone has a different way of development and how you go about the process, but everyone wants instant gratification right now, and sometimes it doesn’t work like that.”
While Steichen and Co.’s handling of the situation may seem like an all-time botch job on the surface, it’s completely fair that the Colts kept this as close to the vest as possible. Richardson was already being kicked while he was down for tapping out, and while that could’ve very well been a last straw of sorts that led to said benching, what matters now is that he has learned enough while benched and from his media availability today, it appears that he’s on the track Steichen had hoped he’d get back on sooner rather than later.
Shane Steichen mentioned that Anthony Richardson has made some big-time strides that were required of him before he would regain the starting role. Richardson spoke about these strides, explaining that, “[I wanted to] show that I’m willing to be a pro and I’m willing to sacrifice anything that I need to do for the team. I feel like these past two weeks definitely opened my eyes and allowed me an opportunity to do that and take a deeper dive, look into myself, and see what I’m really made of. I’m thankful for these past two weeks, and I’m lowkey glad it happened.”
A lack of maturity and/or professionalism is what got Richardson benched in the first place, but how one responds is ultimately what dictates how a player will rebound, if at all. For Richardson, taking a step back wasn’t easy with being a competitor first and foremost. However, self-reflection has allowed him to see the bigger picture more clearly, offering a second chance of sorts that he is grateful for.
“As a competitor, you never want to be on the sidelines. You always feel like there’s an opportunity to go out there and help the team. Sitting on the sidelines allowed me to just look and see certain things I could correct about myself, certain things that the team needed help with. I’m just forever grateful for the opportunity. I’m glad that Shane [Steichen] felt like I’m the guy once again. Like I said, I’m just forever grateful and thankful.”
While Richardson mentioned how he progressed as a backup during this time, he didn’t talk as much about the off-the-field or in-the-building things that he worked on given that his entire demotion was centered around such aspects.
Richardson’s on-the-field play was by no means hitting an adequate level prior to his demotion, but it certainly wasn’t poor enough to warrant the silent two-week suspension that followed it. When asked whether or not he was surprised to learn that there were things that he didn’t know and needed to learn, Richardson replied earnestly.
#Colts QB Anthony Richardson on if he was surprised that there were things he hadn’t known yet:
“Not necessarily because I’m new to this, I’m still learning information…but there’s always more to sacrifice like time.. so being a pro & learning more about that.”
: @Colts pic.twitter.com/PsMLUTeFG4
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) November 13, 2024
Richardson has, by all accounts, taken this demotion seriously and is still not satisfied with where his product on the field stands. While practice makes perfect, practice does not begin on the field. Practicing one’s craft begins the moment you step into the facility, and for a quarterback, it begins as soon as you wake up each day.
There’s been much to learn for the 22-year-old face of the franchise, but Anthony Richardson believes that he’s learned enough in the past two weeks to right his wrongs and get back on track.
“I feel like there’s still room for improvement all around, but lately I’ve been working on consistency. That’s always been a thing of mine, you know just trying to perfect that and get better at that. Just being consistent in all aspects. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to focus on sacrificing more. If the guys ask me to do certain things, even if I don’t feel like doing it, man, you gotta do it because it’s a sacrifice. If they’re doing it, why not do it?”
When it comes to the tangible things that he focused on during this time, Richardson explained, “Just showing them that I can do more work day in and day out, consistently. As a pro, you feel like, okay, I’m doing my work, and I’m getting it done, you know that’s enough — but it’s never enough. Especially not for the vets. If they’ve gotta do the extra work, you’ve gotta do it, too. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”
As there was even before the infamous benching, this Colts team has a ways to go with Anthony Richardson leading the charge, but at least the train that is Indy’s future is back on its intended track. Richardson has since realized the weight that an NFL quarterback holds and is grateful for the opportunity to right his wrongs, which was potentially the wake-up call he needed to start putting it all together.
Whether or not Richardson’s demotion was beneficial (or even necessary) is yet to be seen, but faith in Steichen and Co. must be found again, even though the past two weeks were as bleak as the Colts’ 2022 season was. If Colts fans want any chance at returning to the good ole days of having a franchise QB who you can count on to start for consecutive season-openers, the quickest (and perhaps best) outcome now lies in the hands of the new-look duo in Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson.
