Anthony Richardson, Colts face uphill battle to make partnership work long-term

Ben Arthur

NFL Reporter

After Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday that Anthony Richardson would be reinstated as QB1 for the remainder of the season, the second-year pro stood in front of his locker, surrounded by a throng of media members. A reporter asked him how much more appreciation he has for the position he’s in — the hopeful face of a franchise — after having it taken away for a brief period.

He spoke from a place of humility.

“You understand the magnitude of everything,” Richardson said. “You understand the magnitude of the position. You understand the magnitude of the work that you got to put in just to make sure you’re right for the team.”

Can he prove to be right for the Colts, though?

That’s the big question for Richardson and the organization, the uphill battle they face.

We can talk about the poor optics of the Colts’ process in benching Richardson, the lack of transparency with the public before Wednesday and the holes in how they handled both. But going back to the former No. 4 overall pick brings this reality: It’s rare in league history to find early-round quarterbacks who were benched and later went on to have success with that franchise.

According to The Indianapolis Star, 74 quarterbacks have been drafted in the first round since 2000. Just two of them — Alex Smith with the San Francisco 49ers and Rex Grossman with the Chicago Bears — were drafted, became the starter, were demoted and then returned to have sustained success with the same team. When highly-drafted quarterbacks do turn out to be a hit later in their careers, it’s typically with other franchises (think Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, Sam Darnold).

The Colts will hope Richardson is the rare exception — just as he’s a rare prospect.

We can’t ignore that his completion rate through six starts (44.4%) is historically bad, just like we can’t ignore the wow throws he’s made (his 16.2 yards per completion would lead all qualified quarterbacks) or his size (6-foot-4, 244 pounds) at the quarterback position or his unique dual-threat ability or his physicality.

We can’t ignore the promise he flashed as a rookie, either.

“I’ve said the process, the process for a long time. What I mean by that is the attention to detail with everything he does — from the classroom, to the walk-throughs, to practice, to the weight room,” Steichen said of why Richardson was benched. “All those little things, just gotta be at a higher standard. That’s what was talked about. … That was discussed with him two weeks ago. Those are the conversations that took place. And over the last two weeks, he’s made strides in those areas. Big-time strides, becoming a pro’s pro. Is he a finished product? No, he’s not. It’s my job to help him get there, along with the rest of the coaching staff. But he’s a helluva talent. Like I said, we never lost faith or belief in him and his abilities. And he’s shown strides. He really has.

“Everyone has a different journey,” he continued. “Everyone has a different way of development and how you go about the process and everybody wants instant gratification right now. Sometimes, it doesn’t work like that. You fight through these times. … Got great faith in him and his abilities to be our franchise quarterback.”

That remains to be seen.

History is not on their side.

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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