Anthony Richardson needs more time to develop raw talent: Analysis

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Anthony Richardson got fewer starts than Bryce Young before he was sent to the bench.

The Indianapolis Colts benched their second-year quarterback this week after his 10th career start, including six this season.

The Colts (4-4) are turning to 39-year-old Joe Flacco because coach Shane Steichen believes the veteran gives the team “the best chance to win right now.”

He’s not wrong.

Flacco, a Super Bowl MVP with the Ravens more than a decade ago, is 2-1 in three appearances with the Colts. He was 4-1 with Cleveland last year, helping the Browns reach the playoffs.

The 22-year-old Richardson threw just 393 passes in college at Florida before the Colts selected him with the fourth pick overall in last year’s NFL draft. Richardson has raw talent but still needs time to develop. He’s completed only 50.2% of his passes with more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (seven).

He became the fourth quarterback benched this season, joining Young, Gardner Minshew and Justin Fields.

Young was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. C.J. Stroud, who was selected second by Houston, is the only member of last year’s quarterback class who is thriving. Will Levis, the 33rd pick, is 4-10 in his 14 starts for Tennessee and has missed the past two games with a shoulder injury.

Here are the teams who’ve made quarterback changes and those who might:

PANTHERS: Young was benched just two starts into this season by first-year coach Dave Canales. He was 2-14 in 2023 and has struggled mightily to live up to expectations after winning the Heisman Trophy at Alabama.

Young returned to Carolina’s starting lineup last week because of an injury to Andy Dalton and will remain the starter. The Panthers are 1-7 and need to find out if Young has a future.

STEELERS: Fields was playing well when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin switched to Russell Wilson. He helped Pittsburgh go 4-2 but Tomlin wanted to see if Wilson could take the offense to another level. He has. Wilson has posted a 111.9 passer rating while leading the Steelers to two wins. If he falters at any point, Fields will be ready to go should Tomlin decide to make another switch.

RAIDERS: Minshew beat out Aidan O’Connell for the starting job in training camp but was benched after three starts. He returned when O’Connell broke his thumb. The Raiders 2-6) are 2-4 with Minshew and will likely go back to O’Connell when he’s healthy.

TITANS: Levis is expected to regain the starting job once he’s cleared to play. Backup Mason Rudolph is 0-2 and the Titans (1-6) are headed nowhere so they need to figure what they have in Levis.

GIANTS: Daniel Jones hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in the last three games and has struggled after a solid four-game stretch from Week 2-5. The Giants (2-6) are competing for a top 5 pick in the draft that would help them land a potential franchise QB. Backup Drew Lock isn’t the long-term answer but New York could make a switch eventually because Jones has a $23 million injury guarantee into 2025.

BROWNS: An injury to Deshaun Watson forced the Browns to start Jameis Winston, a move that should’ve been made earlier in the season. Coach Kevin Stefanski stuck with Watson most likely because the team traded a slew of picks for him and gave him an unprecedented fully guaranteed $230 million, five-year deal in 2022. The franchise has a difficult decision to make when Watson returns from an Achilles injury next year. Watson is owed $46 million for each of the next two seasons but he’s been a bust.

SAINTS: Derek Carr missed three games and the Saints (2-6) lost all of them with rookie Spencer Rattler. Carr is expected to return this week and New Orleans is making a switch to Jake Haener as the backup. If the team keeps losing, it’s possible Rattler could replace Carr to give the coaching staff an opportunity to evaluate him for the future.

PATRIOTS: Rookie Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick, got his chance to start in Week 6, replacing veteran Jacoby Brissett. Maye suffered a concussion last week and Brissett came in and led New England to an upset won over the Jets. Once Maye is ready, he’ll play. The Patriots (2-6) need him to be their franchise quarterback.

JETS: Aaron Rodgers isn’t getting benched. The four-time NFL MVP finally showed what he can do for the Jets in the second half of New York’s 21-10 win over Houston. But if the Jets (3-6) can’t stack wins and climb back into the playoff race, there’s no reason for Rodgers to keep playing and risk injury if he’s planning to play again in 2025.

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