Derek Schultz: Richardson or bust

Even as the Colts were about to suffer their annual defeat in Jacksonville, you had to appreciate how Joe Flacco went down fighting.

The 39-year-old backup hurled 45- and 65-yard bombs to Alec Pierce in an incredible rally in the game’s final minutes, briefly drawing the Colts level before they ultimately fell to the Jaguars, 37-34. In the wake of Flacco’s 359-yard performance and with Anthony Richardson on the shelf again, this time with a tricky hip problem, there have been renewed grumblings about how the Colts should proceed at the quarterback position.

The answer is simple because there really is no question—they are going to proceed how they were always going to proceed this season, with Anthony Richardson starting when healthy and Flacco being there to play when he’s not.

In the Colts’ eyes, nothing has changed, nor should it have.

These next three months are still about figuring out exactly what they have in Richardson. Even though we’re into the second month in the second year, he has still started only eight games, which is not close to enough time to make a concrete evaluation on a quarterback. This season has always been about getting Richardson the most valuable thing he requires: experience. Even going back to his days at Florida, Richardson has only 25 total starts as a collegiate or professional quarterback. To put that number in context, Washington rookie Jayden Daniels already has nearly double that combined tally with 46.

With an inexperienced QB at the helm, the understanding is that there will be bumps along the way—Richardson had forgettable games against the Bears and Packers and continues to struggle with his accuracy—but with those bumps can come growth. The Colts need to test their young QB and develop his very raw skills in order to unlock his athletic talents, and that doesn’t come by having him hold a clipboard for the second straight season.

Even if the worst-case scenario plays out, and Richardson isn’t what the Colts hope he can be, they need to find that out as soon as possible. Benching Richardson for Flacco only delays that crucial “yes or no” decision and puts the Colts potentially in the same exact position one year from now, wondering what their highly drafted young quarterback will be without a legitimate sample size to draw from.

Been here before

This obvious concept of playing the young quarterback you drafted over the veteran seems to be aggravating to some Colts fans, which is odd considering what they’ve been subjected to over the last several seasons with signal-callers from the latter category.

Indianapolis delayed their rookie-quarterback decision with veteran plug-ins that ranged from capable (Phillip Rivers) to calamitous (Carson Wentz) to downright catastrophic (Matt Ryan) from 2020-2022, before entrusting the reins of the franchise to Richardson in 2023, but his Week 4 injury last season forced them back into the vet pool with a plucky but limited Gardner Minshew. That 9-8 season brought the Colts to the doorstep of the playoffs but ultimately ended as so many of these other seasons have, with nothing to show for it.

The fact is, we’ve seen what the Colts are with these types of quarterbacks. Even if you toss the supremely average Jacoby Brissett into the mix, virtually the entire post-Andrew Luck era has been led by Flacco-type quarterbacks. Most of them are good in a pinch, which is all a good backup is supposed to be, but none of them besides Rivers was stable and capable and maximized the players around them.

Even with vets, teams can experience the exact same highs and lows they do with a rookie learning on the job. Take Wentz as the best example—for every great performance or throw he had in 2022, like the Monday night game in Baltimore and game-winner to Dezmon Patmon in Arizona, you had the embarrassing five-completion, 57-yard effort against New England and back-breaking interceptions in that critical home loss to Tennessee.

The floor is often higher with guys like Flacco, but the ceiling is undoubtedly lower. Rivers’ 11-5 season is the gold standard, but even taking that into account, the Colts’ cumulative record in games started by Brissett (15 starts), Rivers (16 starts), Wentz (17 starts), Ryan (12 starts), Minshew (13 starts) and Flacco (2024) over the past six-plus seasons has produced a middling overall team record of 38-35-1.

A season-long solution?

For those in the “Flacco should start” camp, the idea is that he gives the Colts a better chance to win for the rest of the year than Richardson does. While that’s debatable, given what Richardson has flashed in his starts the last two years against the Jaguars, Rams and Texans and what he also provides as a running threat, it’s hard to pick the true winner with any confidence.

While folks here might fondly remember Flacco’s Super Bowl MVP season, which occurred all the way back in Luck’s rookie year, his teams are 11-21 in his last 32 starts dating back to the 2018 season. He caught lightning in a bottle in five starts in Cleveland last year, a 4-1 December surge that secured a rare playoff berth for the Browns, but Flacco hasn’t started more than five games since 2019. Hell, he hasn’t even appeared in 10 games in a single season since way back in 2017—that was Chris Ballard’s first season, in case you’re wondering how long that has been.

For those concerned about Richardson turning the ball over, that has also been a late-career concern for Flacco, who is more of a risk-taker and downfield thrower than prior Colts backups like Minshew or Brissett. Before this week’s clean sheet in Jacksonville, Flacco had thrown at least one interception in 15 of his previous 21 starts. He threw eight in five starts in Cleveland last year, which doesn’t include the two pick-sixes in the 45-14 playoff blowout loss in Houston.

Also, creeping up on his 40th birthday in January, Flacco would need to keep up with the physical toll necessary to be an every-week starter the rest of the way. That’s something the oft-injured Richardson has yet to prove himself, but Flacco has not completed a September-to-January run under center since his final full season as a starter in Baltimore seven years ago. Flacco’s first seven quarters in a Colts uniform have been very good, but I’d be wary of extrapolating that over the next 13 weeks.

When asked about Richardson’s status moving forward after the Jacksonville loss, Colts head coach Shane Steichen said, “He is our starting quarterback.” The team has remained adamant that, as long as Richardson is healthy this season, that won’t change.

Joe Flacco understands that.

Now, I just hope some others in the Colts fan base get it, too.•

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From Peyton Manning’s peak with the Colts to the Pacers’ most recent roster makeover, Schultz has talked about it all as a sports personality in Indianapolis for more than 15 years. Besides his written work with IBJ, he’s active in podcasting and show hosting. You can follow him on X @Schultz975.