‘I’ve been doing this for a long time’

The Indianapolis Colts shocked the football world on Tuesday with this announcement the move to 22-year-old former first-round pick Anthony Richardson in favor of 39-year-old veteran Joe Flacco.

The Foals are coming off their third division loss of the season and are currently two games behind first place in the AFC South after the loss to the Houston Texans. At 4-4, with a crucial number of games ahead, the team has decided to forego Richardson’s development project in order to now focus on winning more games.

Head coach Shane Steichen was confident that this move is not a one-week punishment for Richardson and that Flacco will “now” be the team’s starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. That could obviously change if Flacco struggles in the next month, but it’s highly likely we’ll last see Richardson start for the Colts in 2024 (and perhaps in general).

Flacco, the Colts’ new starter at quarterback, said the following about the monumental move:

Listen, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I just go out there and play my game and do my best to lift everyone up and give them confidence. I’m just going to do my thing like I have… I’ve already played a few games this year, so I think everyone knows what to expect and we can get right into it.

– Joe Flacco

Flacco has undeniably outperformed Richardson as a passer this season, albeit against slightly easier competition. Flacco has thrown for 716 yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception in games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee titans (along with recording recordings during the clean-up obligation against the Pittsburgh Steelers). He also ranks as the second-best quarterback in the NFL in EPA per game at third this season (while Richardson was the worst among the 51 qualifying players).

Flacco will certainly get the passing game moving a bit better for the Colts the rest of the season, but is that worth putting aside the development project of a 22-year-old super athlete? Time will only tell if the Colts’ decision to pass on the future in favor of better immediate outcomes will come back to bite them in the ass, as so many decisions have done in recent history.

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