The Indianapolis Colts had the right thought process when they signed Joe Flacco to a one-year deal last offseason. The thought was that with Anthony Richardson coming off an injury and entering just his second year as a pro quarterback, having someone like Flacco behind him on the depth chart could only help the Colts.
Flacco had helped lead the Browns to the playoffs during the 2023 season so the move looked even smarter. Why not bring in a veteran quarterback to back up your hopeful franchise quarterback? On paper, the move looked smart.
Unfortunately, things didn't play out the way the Colts would have liked for them to. Flacco did end up playing when Richardson missed time with an injury and also played a bit while the Colts were still deciding what to do at the position. Flacco appeared in eight games with six starts and threw for 12 touchdowns and seven picks. The Colts went 2-4 in Flacco's six starts.
Flacco left the Colts after just one year and re-signed with the Browns to join that mess of a quarterback room. While the experiment didn't go according to plan in Indianapolis, the Colts should get something out of Flacco's departure.
According to Over the Cap, the Colts are projected to receive a seventh-round compensatory pick in next year's draft for Flacco's departure. A compensatory pick is an additional draft pick a team gets when a notable free agent leaves the previous year. The more valuable the player, the higher the compensatory pick is, so, in this case, Flacco wasn't considered to be too big of a loss for Indy.
Joe Flacco should net the Colts a late-round compensatory pick in 2026
The Colts plan to enter the 2025 season with Richardson and Daniel Jones as their quarterbacks with the two battling it out for the starting job this year. The Colts also drafted Notre Dame's Riley Leonard in the sixth round and also have former Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jason Bean on their roster as well.
The starting job will, in all likelihood, come down to Richardson and Jones with Richardson probably being the favorite right now. The Colts spent the fourth overall pick on him two years ago and this is the time for the former Florida Gator to step up and show he was worth investing the future in.
Flacco's signing might not have worked out but maybe Chris Ballard can make something happen with this extra draft pick.