The saga of Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis has raised questions and concerns within the Colts locker room, a report has revealed.
The 22-year-old was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft but over 18 months later the franchise is entering its fourth straight year without postseason football.
A Week 17 blowout loss to the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium last weekend, cemented yet another woeful season for the directionless Colts.
And amid another chaotic season, it appears tensions came to a boil in the locker room over the Colts’ quarterback woes.
Multiple members of the Colts’ roster reportedly held private meetings with Richardson to tell him he wasn’t ‘meeting the standard,’ The Athletic reported.
‘I signed an extension here because I believed in you,’ defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is said to have told Richardson, according to The Athletic’s Jim Trotter. ‘But you’ve got to do your part.’
Anthony Richardson was reportedly told by teammates that he wasn’t ‘meeting the standard’
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 Draft
The crunch talks appear to have stemmed from Indianapolis’s rollercoaster season in the quarterback room with head coach Shane Steichen flipflopping back and forth between Richardson and veteran Joe Flacco.
Steichen appeared to add to the turmoil in Indianapolis by remaining reticent to divulge information with the media or to provide conviction in his calls.
Back in late October, the coach refused to explain his decision to bench Richardson other than to say that the young signal caller was going through ‘a process’ and that he believed Flacco gave the team ‘the best chance to win now.’
And, when asked if his players were on board, Steichen diverted, merely saying, ‘I can’t speak for our team.’
However, Flacco went on to flop in back-to-back weeks, leaving the Colts in a difficult position when it came to the situation under center.
Steichen is said to have had no choice but to thrust Richardson back in to the starting role, scrambling to provide an explanation without outright confessing that Flacco had been so poor it would be unfathomable to start him again.
‘It’s the attention to detail in everything he does. From the classrooms to the walk-throughs to practice to the weight room, all those little things, it’s just gotta be at a higher standard,’ the coach said. ‘He’s shown strides. He really has.’
However, one Colts veteran revealed to The Athletic that the decision made other players privately ‘question the direction of the franchise.’
Colts head coach Shane Steichen has flipflopped between quarterbacks this season
‘They were trying to hold (Richardson) accountable, which is understandable, but then the guy they put in wasn’t the guy either,’ the player told the outlet.
‘So when they went back to A.R., at that point it’s like, “OK, but what are we doing?” That really affected the team.’
The Colts may see a change at quarterback once again this week with Richardson at risk of sitting for the final game of the regular season.
He missed practice last week and Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants which eliminated the Colts (7-9) from playoff contention, after suffering with potentially chronic back issues.
Richardson said earlier this week that he has been dealing with the most severe back spasms of his life, that left him crawling around his house.
However, he insisted that he still wants to play Sunday when the Colts host the Jacksonville Jaguars to end their season.
