Could we see a possible change at quarterback midseason for the Indianapolis Colts?
For the first time this season, the Indianapolis Colts appear to be noncommittal on second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson as the team’s starter going forward, per multiple reports.
Indianapolis is 4-4 on the season and is set to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football in Week 9.
Shane Steichen on if Anthony Richardson will start on Sunday:
“We are evaluating everything.”
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) October 28, 2024
During his Monday press conference with local media members, Colts’ head coach Shane Steichen was asked on more than one occasion whether Richardson would be the team’s starter against Minnesota.
His first response?
“We are evaluating everything,” Steichen said, via ESPN.
When asked more specifically if Richardson was the team’s starter right now, Steichen said, “Right now, today, he is, yes,” via ESPN.
Steichen’s response Monday was much different from what he has said through the first eight weeks of the season. When Richardson has been healthy, there hasn’t been any question about whether or not he would be the Colts’ starter.
Now, Indianapolis could turn to backup quarterback Joe Flacco. The 39-year-old veteran has appeared in three games, including two starts against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, this season. Flacco is 1-1 as the team’s starter.
Steichen acknowledged Monday that the team would be evaluating more than just the quarterback position and that Richardson taking himself out for a play didn’t factor into the team’s need for evaluations.
“We’re evaluating everything,’’ Steichen said, via FOX59. “Not just the quarterback (but) everything. Like, we’ve all gotta be better. I mean, we’re sitting at .500 and I think looking back at what we’ve done, there’s a whole bunch of areas we can improve on. I’m not just talking about the quarterback. I’m talking about everything. We’ve gotta be better moving forward.’’
Richardson has struggled in spots as the team’s starter this season, most recently against the Houston Texans on Sunday. The second-year quarterback completed just 10-of-32 pass attempts for 175 yards with one touchdown and one interception. In the first half, outside of a 69-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Josh Downs, Richardson was just 2-of-15 for 81 yards, though he didn’t get much help from his other pass catchers.
But the second-year quarterback’s struggles go beyond Sunday’s poor outing against Houston. Through six starts this season, Richardson has completed an NFL-low 44.4 percent of his passes for 958 yards with just four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The 22-year-old signal-caller isn’t entirely to blame for the Colts’ offensive struggles, and Steichen has said more than once that he has to help put Richardson in better spots. Both things can be (and are) true. As an offense, the Colts rank 16th in yards per game (326.0), 11th in rushing (128.0), 21st in passing (198.0) and 19th in scoring (21.9), per FOX59.
It’s clear that Indianapolis’ offense needs to find more of a consistent identity going forward. One could argue that Richardson’s dual-threat abilities gives the Colts a greater chance at finding that identity.
For a franchise that has preached patience with the league’s youngest-starting quarterback, a sudden change would be surprising to many. The Colts clearly aren’t closing the door on that being a possibility, and now it becomes a situation worth monitoring moving forward.
