Is this the reason Shane Steichen benched Anthony Richardson?

After finding out that Anthony Richardson had been benched in favor of veteran QB Joe Flacco, the question most people had was simple: why? Yet head coach Shane Steichen remained vague over the past several weeks, even as criticism over the decision grew to a roar.

Flacco struggled in his two weeks as starter, and despite back-to-back losses with poor offensive production and multiple turnovers, Steichen began the week by insisting Flacco would still remain as QB1 for the rest of the season. He then did a shocking 180 and announced Richardson would be returning as starter.

Yet the question still remains: why? Why was Richardson benched? And what could really have changed in two weeks... or even two days? In media interviews, Steichen has insisted that Richardson needed to improve "the process," and he evidently has done that. And sources may have given us a clue into what exactly this means.

ESPN's Stephen Holder reported that the issue was simple: Richardson didn't truly understand the seriousness required for a franchise quarterback. That mindset could possibly have been on display when he answered a reporter honestly when asked why he tapped out of a play, saying he was simply "tired." While the benching doesn't appear to be directly related to the tap-out, that might be a symptom of his overall immaturity relating to the game.

"Conversations with teammates and multiple sources have created a clearer picture of what transpired behind the scenes," Holder wrote. "What they laid out was the story of a young quarterback described as 'naïve' rather than resistant, a player who didn't know what he didn't know. The benching, according to a team source, was an effort to get Richardson's attention."

Holder saying that Richardson "didn't know what he didn't know" is an interesting point; the Colts have been directly criticized for exactly that numerous times, as analysts have said it's on Steichen to take the youngest quarterback in the league and educate him, including several Colts alums who ripped Steichen's handling of Richardson.

Jeff Saturday recently argued that the Colts are shooting themselves in the foot by failing to properly develop Richardson, saying they ruined his career from the day they drafted him.

"We're going to let Minshew be the guy in year one. We're going to let Flacco be the guy in two. We're going to kind of take our lumps, do whatever. We're going to build around them because those guys aren't going to cost any money," he said. "He's on a rookie contract, and we're going to build around them. Then by year three, we're going all-in to Anthony Richardson. And now we're going to go, right? We're going to go with him. We're going to go with his athleticism. And now he's figured out how to prepare, how to get this thing going, how to lead a team."

He added, "If you didn't like his preparation leading up to the season, then why did you play him again this season? Like none of that stuff makes sense to me if that's the real deal. It makes it very easy to say it now that you've benched him. Okay? And so my point for Anthony Richardson is either he shouldn't have done what you did to him now, and now the Colts are back in the same situation they've been in nearly for a decade now since Andrew Luck left."

Pat McAfee likewise pointed out that it isn't Richardson's fault that no one has been adequately preparing him for his position as quarterback.

 "AR got an opportunity to sit back, watch, hopefully learn from a lot of people talking. Quarterbacks have to operate differently. When he's in there, he's electrifying," he said, adding, "He can run for a hundo. He can throw for five hundo. He might miss a few, because he's still a rookie quarterback even though he's in his second year. He wasn't in the building much last year, which, once again, don't love. I don't think that would have happened in any building that is worth a s*** if your rookie quarterback has surgery. I think they're still going to be back in there, learning stuff. So once again, not AR's fault that he seemingly doesn't have anybody to try and teach him the ways, but hopefully, Joe Flacco has done that. 

Holder continued by saying that sources had explained that Richardson needed to put in more time and effort, which he has been; Richardson has been arriving to the Colts facility at 5:30am to go over films and plan the game, as well as meeting with offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. to study pass protections.

Joel Erickson of the IndyStar had a similar report, indicating that we may finally have the answer to why Richardson was benched at last. Richardson, he said, needed to do more preparation, like "absorbing information in walk-throughs, taking notes in meetings, preparing to the obsessive level necessary for an NFL quarterback." And other team leaders evidently had no doubt that if Richardson was told where he needed to improve, he would put in the effort to do so.

“I’ve had teammates like that,” DeForest Buckner said. “The guys that get it, they’re willing to be coachable, to open up, be vulnerable and understand. That’s the type of person and player that Anthony is. He wants to be great, and he’s willing to listen. That’s why we have so much confidence in him.”

These may all be valid points... but the question still remains, why?

Frankly, this calls into question Steichen's coaching, not Richardson's ability to learn and prepare. Let's remember, Richardson was drafted at just 20 years old, without much experience in college. The Colts took him on as a project that would need a lot of work to develop him into the incredible quarterback that he has the potential to be. It should have been expected that Richardson, as the youngest quarterback in the NFL, wouldn't know much about leading a franchise.

So why wasn't Steichen, who has been previously referred to as the quarterback whisperer, educating and preparing his young QB? Everything we know about Richardson, especially due to statements from his teammates, indicates that he is not someone with too much of an ego to take that advice on.

Richardson has long been someone known to be willing to do what it takes to learn and grow. So why hasn't Steichen been teaching him? Everyone knows that Richardson has a lot of learning and growing to do. If he didn't know that these were the things he needed to be doing, then that says a lot more about Steichen's coaching than it does about Richardson's leadership potential and willingness to learn.