It looks like Colts coach Shane Steichen has flip-flopped on Flacco only two weeks after naming him head quarterback over last year’s fourth overall NFL draft pick, Anthony Richardson; Steichen announced on Wednesday that he will be reverting back to Richardson over veteran Joe Flacco, to what we’re sure is the confusion of Indianapolis and fantasy football fans alike.
Richardson, who will start against the NY Jets on Sunday, shared his thoughts with reporters on his two-week benching via Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan.
βIt just showed that Iβm willing to be a pro and Iβm willing to sacrifice anything that I need to do for the team,β Richardson said. “I feel like these past two weeks have definitely opened my eyes and allowed me to have the opportunity to do that and just take a deeper dive and look into myself and see what Iβm made of. Iβm thankful for these past two weeks and Iβm low-key glad it happened.β
Richardson added, “As a competitor, you never want to be on the sideline when you think there’s an opportunity to go out and help the team. But sitting on the sideline just allowed me to just look and see certain things I could correct about myself, certain things that the team needed help with and I’m just forever grateful for the opportunity. I’m glad that Shane felt like I’m the guy again. I’m just forever grateful and I’m just thankful.”
Flacco was quarterback for the Ravens when they won the Super Bowl in 2013 by a score of 34-31 against the San Francisco 49ers, a game in which he was also award the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. He also helped lead the Baltimore Ravens to the playoffs six times during his eleven seasons as starting quarterback, winning the AFC North twice. In his two starts for the Colts, he threw for 1,167 yards (113 completions on 170 attempts) with 9 TDs and 5 INTs, a 66.5% completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 54.9.
Richardson, in his six starts with the Colts before being reinstated this week, had 958 passing yards (27 completions on 66 attempts) with 4 TDs and 7 INTs, a 44.4% completion percentage. He also rushed for 242 yards (5.9 yards per attempt) with 1 rushing TD.
What do you think of the thoughts shared by Anthony Richardson on returning as Colts starting QB? Do you think Colts coach Shane Steichen sat Richardson for enough weeks with Joe Flacco as his replacement before changing his mind? Let us know in the comments.
