Examining Colts’ QB situation with Joe Flacco starting after Anthony Richardson’s benching

When Joe Flacco entered free agency, fresh off a stunning playoff run with the Browns at the age of 39, his agent reached out to all the QB-needy teams.

And in March, as always, there were many.

Yet even after a resurgent performance, taking Cleveland to a wild-card berth after Deshaun Watson‘s season-ending shoulder injury, Flacco generated just a sliver more interest than the previous year. In 2023 it was none. In 2024?

The reigning AP Comeback Player of the Year generated a grand total of … one offer. That was from the Colts, who signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $8.7 million with a base value of $4.5 million. That’s it.

Joe Linta, who has represented the former Super Bowl MVP his entire career, received seven direct answers of “No,” one team who said, “We’ll see,” and the rest non-responses, according to Linta. That one offer has paid off.

Once again, Flacco is a starter in the NFL, leading the Colts into Sunday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. It all comes after a tumultuous and consequential week for Indy, as head coach Shane Steichen benched former first-round pick Anthony Richardson for ineffectiveness and installed Flacco as the starter.

Richardson is now the second top QB pick from the 2023 draft benched this season. The Panthers benched Bryce Young after just the second game of the season, only to reinstall him as the starter after veteran Andy Daltoninjured his thumb in a car crash last month. Young is starting again on Sunday even though Dalton is off the injury report, as the organization believed in September that Young would be back under center this season.

Steichen said on Wednesday that Flacco was the team’s starter “going forward,” and sources say there is a real chance, barring injury, that Flacco starts for the remainder of the season. But following this year, sources say, the Colts have no plans to give up on Richardson. They believe he has a bright future and hope that he grows amid adversity.

There is still belief that he’ll be a starter again in the NFL, and in fact, when Colts brass met with him this week, sources say, the examples referenced were several QBs who took years to find their form — including Jordan Love and Alex Smith.