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When Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen made the decision to bench Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco, he apparently didn’t inform everyone on the team ahead of time.
Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. told reporters he found out about the change on social media.
As for why the change was made, Richardson said that Steichen didn’t give him a specific reason.
Steichen confirmed on Wednesday that Flacco will take over as the Colts starter going forward, but they still believe in Richardson’s ability to play in the NFL.
Steichen didn’t publicly announce the change until Wednesday, even though it was originally reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday.
The Colts didn’t practice yesterday and traditionally Tuesday is an off-day for players when the team isn’t paying on Thursday, making it plausible that Pittman just didn’t have any interaction with Steichen or another member of the coaching staff yesterday.
If Pittman was just at home scrolling social media, it’s not a surprise that would be the first place he heard about it. It is a little strange that a coach wouldn’t inform the entire team of such a significant move before it gets leaked, but the way information travels nowadays doesn’t make it a sign of any disconnect in the locker room.
Richardson’s point that Steichen didn’t necessarily explain why he was being benched is a bigger concern. There certainly are performance-based reasons to give Flacco a chance with the offense:
The most-likely answer is because of Richardson’s decision to sub himself out for a play because he was “tired” in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans.
The admission from Richardson led to a lot of discussion about the situation and the potential risk of losing the locker room. Steichen said on Wednesday the decision was made in the best interest of trying to win games this season.
“It’s my obligation to 53 guys in this organization to win football games,” Steichen explained. “Right now, Joe Flacco gives us the best chance.”
As enticing as it is for the Colts, who are only one game out of a playoff spot with a 4-4 record, to prioritize winning right now, doing it at the expense of developing a 22-year-old quarterback with 10 career starts in the NFL who was selected with the No. 4 draft pick in 2023 is a potentially franchise-altering move.
The Colts could end up going back to Richardson this season, but they are running the risk of hurting his confidence going forward. It’s a difficult situation that Steichen and his staff are trying to navigate with no perfect solution available.
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