Kirk Herbstreit wonders if Anthony Richardson may eventually be benched for Joe Flacco

Anyone who watched Thursday night’s preseason game between the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals on Amazon’s Prime Video likely gathered that analyst Kirk Herbstreit is generally bullish on the Colts. But while he may be high on the Colts, he’s more skeptical about their quarterback, Anthony Richardson.

Herbstreit clearly did not like much of what he saw from Richardson in the first half. Because shortly after halftime, the Prime Video analyst began to speculate about the possibility that Richardson, who the Colts used the fifth-overall pick on in 2023, might eventually be benched this season. Who would replace Richardson under center? Joe Flacco.

“If you’re Shane Steichen, best-case scenario, Anthony Richardson lives up to what we all hope he can do. Running, throwing, he’s healthy. This team has a great year and he’s a superstar, right? What if he struggles? What if he has a good drive — or a good game, then a bad game, a good game and a bad game? He’s a pick. Everybody’s kind of expecting him to be the guy. You got a guy like Joe Flacco. With the roster they have, I just wonder how you handle that if it goes down that path — if you’re Shaine Steichen. Because you know what you’re gonna get in Joe Flacco.”

Let’s get this out of the way. Technically, Herbstreit is not wrong. Richardson, even if he stays healthy, could get benched if he struggles beyond what Steichen and the Colts deem to be an acceptable level. But that’s true for everybody. Theoretically, Patrick Mahomes could struggle to a point where Andy Reid will bench him. In that example, the possibility is so remote that it’s not even worth speculating on.

Granted, Richardson is much closer to that point than Mahomes. Still, it doesn’t mean we’re terribly close to a quarterback controversy.

When the Colts used the fifth overall pick in Richardson in 2023, Chris Ballard and Steichen were the general manager and coach who oversaw the selection. Both men are still in Indianapolis with the same jobs they had when Richardson was picked. There hasn’t been a big organizational shift around him.

And to be fair, there’s reason to be skeptical about Richardson. He was only a full-time college starting quarterback for one year at Florida, though he did see decent time as a backup in 2021. Then, due to a shoulder injury, his first NFL season was limited to only four games.

An area where Richardson can improve the most is in his accuracy. He completed only 59.5% of his passes as a rookie in 2023. That said, Flacco, even in his resurgent Comeback Player of the Year season with the Cleveland Browns in 2023, completed only 60.3% of his passes.

Conversely, Richardson ran for 136 yards and four touchdowns over his four games in 2023. Flacco has accumulated 98 yards rushing with no touchdowns over the last six years — a span that, for him, covers 34 games and 31 starts. He may be a slightly more accurate passer than Richardson but Richardson is a significantly more mobile quarterback.

Richardson has a long way to go before we can call him a great NFL quarterback. He also did not have a great game on Thursday. Despite all of that, he’s the clear QB1 in Indianapolis.

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