Report expands on if Colts have 'character concerns' about Anthony Richardson

NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated insisted earlier this week that Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen benched second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson across back-to-back losses for reasons related "only" to Richardson's play and not because the 22-year-old took himself out of Indianapolis' Week 8 loss to the Houston Texans because he was "tired." 

For a story published on Friday, ESPN's Stephen Holder reported that "the benching, according to a team source, was an effort to get Richardson's attention." However, Holder added that "off-the-field rumors about character concerns were never accurate." 

Richardson acknowledged this week he learned while serving as a temporary QB2 behind veteran Joe Flacco about "sacrificing more" for teammates and about taking a "deeper dive to take a look inside and see what I’m made of." According to Holder, one change involved Richardson "getting to the team facility around 5:30 a.m." so he could prepare for tasks such as starting for the 4-6 Colts at the 3-7 New York Jets this Sunday. 

Over his first six starts of the season, Richardson completed just 44.4% of 133 passes for 958 yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions to go along with 242 rushing yards and a score on 41 attempts. Steichen publicly said he benched Richardson after Week 8 because Flacco gave the Colts the best chance to win, but the Super Bowl XLVII Most Valuable Player then played poorly across two contests before Steichen went back to the fourth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

"Internally," Holder added, "the Colts wrestled with divulging more details about the motivations behind their decisions." 

Such a line doesn't dispel the notion that Richardson at the very least upset some veteran teammates by tapping himself out of a game due to fatigue. 

Like others, Holder noted that Indianapolis' QB1 job now "belongs to Richardson" through Week 18 as long as he stays healthy. It remains to be seen if the Colts are essentially putting Richardson on display so that they can make him available during the upcoming offseason. 

As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbooks listed the Colts as four-point underdogs against the Jets. Leading his team to an upset win at MetLife Stadium would be the best way for Richardson to silence talk about what did or didn't happen behind the scenes within the Colts after the contest at Houston's NRG Stadium.