Former Florida Gator star Anthony Richardson becomes second QB taken in 2023 first-round to be benched
It's not often we see second-year quarterbacks benched in the NFL, but one of the bright spots of the Florida Gators' recent history found himself moved to the pine on Tuesday. Instead of the Indianapolis Colts continuing to proceed with Anthony Richardson, the franchise announced the 22-year-old will be replaced by 39-year-old Joe Flacco. The […]
It's not often we see second-year quarterbacks benched in the NFL, but one of the bright spots of the Florida Gators' recent history found himself moved to the pine on Tuesday. Instead of the Indianapolis Colts continuing to proceed with Anthony Richardson, the franchise announced the 22-year-old will be replaced by 39-year-old Joe Flacco.
The move comes after Richardson bizarrely removed himself from Sunday's game against the Houston Texans because he was "tired." Whether he was serious or not, Richardson tapped out for a play so Flacco could enter on a third and long.
The Colts are now tapping out, at least temporarily, on the Richardson experiment. With only 10 starts, it's fair to say he's been as much of a developmental project as advertised. However, the Colts knew what they were signing up for as he had only 392 pass attempts at Florida before going pro.
Bailing now is a ridiculously poor example of cohesive leadership. Instead of buying into the Josh Allen plan, where the former Wyoming passer was given four years to develop without judgment from the organization, the Colts have thrown in the towel well before any real takeaways on his ability to learn and apply adjustments can be made.
Now, the former Gators star will watch Flacco try to guide the franchise back to the playoffs. While he could potentially benefit from seeing Flacco operate, real reps can't be replicated. And for all of the bad numbers that have come from Richardson's time on the field, the context and film shows he hasn't had a ton of help, either.
Only time will tell whether Richardson is just not capable, has been correctly benched, or will be the next quarterback who finds more success elsewhere. Given his age and lack of real-game experience, I think this is a highly questionable move for a franchise that doesn't suddenly vault to contender status with Flacco in the lineup.
Instead, the Colts are taking the myopic approach, which makes lessons harder to learn. And the Gators are back to lacking stars across the NFL.
