The Big Lead

Anthony Richardson benching continues the mess that is the Indianapolis Colts

By Joe Lago

Oct 27, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) reacts after the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Oct 27, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) reacts after the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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The Carolina Panthers have competition for NFL's biggest calamity of a franchise.

And the Indianapolis Colts just might keep stumbling to own the ignominious title for themselves.

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On Monday, the Colts made the stunning decision to bench Anthony Richardson, their purported franchise quarterback, after just 10 career starts in the NFL. The 2023 No. 4 overall pick was demoted in favor of 39-year-old backup QB Joe Flacco a day after Indy fell to 4-4 with a 23-20 loss to the division rival Houston Texans.

Richardson's now-infamous "tapping out" incident due to fatigue grabbed all the headlines and may have been the final straw for a Colts braintrust desperately hoping for vast improvement from the QB. However, that lets the organization off the hook far too easily.

The Colts have been dysfunctional for awhile now under owner Jim Irsay, missing the playoffs the last three seasons and even having someone with zero coaching experience run the team (remember The Great Jeff Saturday Experiment of 2022?).

The Athletic's Michael Silver squarely places the blame for the franchise's funk on the failures of general manager Chris Ballard, who has been "utterly feckless" in persisting with stopgap solutions since Andrew Luck's retirement in 2019. And now, the Colts are praying for another quick fix with Flacco, who, according to head coach Shane Steichen, will remain the starter "going forward."

When asked if the locker room was unified with the QB change, Steichen said, "I can't speak for our team." That comment alone succinctly sums up the disarray of the Colts.

Richardson's benching has sparked a larger conversation over the league's development of quarterbacks (or lack of it). Front offices no longer have the patience to develop first-round QBs because they aren't afforded the time in the win-now NFL.

That uncomfortable reality doesn't absolve incompetence at the highest levels, though. And the Colts have definitely made their share of blunders of late, the impatience over Richardson being just the latest terrible call.

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