Two weeks ago, Colts QB Anthony Richardson was benched due to his ineffectiveness on the field.
But then he was unfairly vilified by the media; not for his play but for his poor choice of words.
The now infamous moment that led to Richardson’s media crucifixion came during their game against the Texans where, after two scrambling plays, including a long run where he shook off a 300-pound defensive tackle, the 22-year-old, 6’4, 245 lbs QB tapped his helmet, signaling he wanted to come out.
Was he hurt? Was his helmet damaged? Everyone wanted to know as backup Joe Flacco entered the game.
During the press conference, Richardson answered the question in the most truthful, yet worst PR-way possible.
“I was tired,” said the young quarterback. “I ain’t gonna lie. That was a lot of running right there. I didn’t think I was going to be able to go that next play, so I just told [Colts coach] Shane [Steichen] I just needed a break right there.”
And the media pounced.
They accused him of quitting on his team.
They ripped him for being soft. Some even lashed into him for telling the truth.
“Say you lost a contact,” said ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Richardson obviously failed his PR moment, but you would have thought that he had committed a crime on the field and at the podium the way he was targeted in the media.
All he did was ask to come out for one play to catch his breath, something almost every player is afforded the opportunity to do. Instead, he was branded with a Scarlett “Q” on his chest and banished to the bench for the next two games in favor of Flacco.
Even his coach acknowledged he was winded.
“He needed a breather,” Steichen said. “He ran three times in a row and it was third and long, so we were going to hand the ball off.”
But the moment simply accentuated his poor performance this season, which included going 10-32 for 175 yards with a completion rate of 44.4% in that game against the Texans.
So in stepped Flacco, and in his two starts, both losses, he threw for 451 yards with 2 TDs and 4 INTs combined.
After two weeks of being ripped mercilessly by the press, coach Steichen made the decision on Wednesday that Richardson would again be the starter this weekend against the Jets.
“He’s going to start this week,” Steichen said. “He will start the rest of the season. And we will go from there.”
Steichen believed that the young QB had shown a better understanding of the game during his benching and that he’s “made strides in those areas [off-the-field preparation and attention to detail], big-time strides in becoming a pro’s pro.”
Richardson believes he’s learned a lot during this frustrating time and is ready to resume his role under center after a period of reflection.
“I think these two weeks have definitely opened my eyes and allowed me to take a deeper dive and look into myself and see what I’m made of,” he said. “So, I’m thankful for these past two weeks and I’m low-key thankful that it happened.”
Richardson’s situation is a manifestation of what young quarterbacks are experiencing more frequently in today’s NFL. Teams and fans are so eager to see young talent on the field that development is passed over in favor of throwing these young players into the fire.
Even more alarmingly, they’re thrown into the fire on bad teams, which further hampers their development and physical/mental well-being.
Just look at Justin Fields during his three years in Chicago and Caleb William’s current career in the Windy City.
Fields was sacked 85 times while running for his life in Chicago. Williams has been sacked 38 times to date over his first nine games for the Bears.
It’s time for coaches to slow the process down and allow these young QBs to develop. It worked for quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Steve McNair and Jordan Love, who all held the clipboard for a few years while learning under veteran QBs until it was time for them to take over.
Unfortunately, today’s young players are not afforded that luxury, and they’re suffering because of it.
In Anthony Richardson’s case, he suffered both on and off the field and became the victim of an unfair assessment of a brief moment during a game.
It was made into a national news story when it shouldn’t have been. Remember, he only played in four games last year before suffering a season-ending injury. During his junior year at Florida, he only made 12 total starts.
So now that Flacco proved he was capable and Richardson is back under center, it’s time to ease up on the young man and give him time to learn, mature and develop.
And apologize to him in the process, too.
