After just 10 starts, Shane Steichen and the Indianapolis Colts decided to bench Anthony Richardson and start Joe Flacco instead. Benching the former fourth overall pick led many to believe that the Colts already decided they were done with him and weren't going to continue with him as their hopeful franchise quarterback.
NFL analyst Louis Riddick is begging the Colts not to give up on the former Florida Gators quarterback so soon. Riddick appeared as a guest on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday and came to Richardson's defense, even going as far as comparing his current career numbers to the early career numbers of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
This topic came up while Patrick and Riddick were talking about Caleb Williams' struggles and eventually, it shifted to how Allen struggled during his first year and a half as a pro quarterback. From there, Riddick brought up how Richardson's numbers are similar to what Allen did early in his career, noting that Allen dispelled the rumors of a quarterback being able to improve on accuracy problems.
"That's what ticks me off the most about this Anthony Richardson conversation right now. You see objectively you look at the stats, and Josh are the same people through 10 starts. But people are now saying 'Well because he tapped out', which was a B.S. move, you can't do that, but should you now all of a sudden throw dirt on the kid and go 'His career is done, look at his stats'. That's stupid. He's not done. But the Colts? You better look inward, that's for sure."
Louis Riddick compares Anthony Richardson's career to Josh Allen's early career
Riddick starts talking about this at roughly 8:30 in the video above. It's an interesting point because, when looking at Richardson's and Allen's stats from their first 10 games side-by-side, they are pretty similar.
Stat | Anthony Richardson | Josh Allen |
|---|---|---|
Completions/Attempts | 109-of-217 | 146-of-279 |
Passing Yards | 1,535 | 1,776 |
Passing Touchdowns | 7 | 7 |
Interceptions | 8 | 11 |
Rushing Yards | 378 | 510 |
Rushing Touchdowns | 5 | 6 |
Riddick is certainly onto something here. Allen threw more passes and for more yards, but the two both tossed for seven touchdowns, while Allen threw three more picks than Richardson has. Allen rushed for more yards, but only had one more rushing score than Richardson through his first 10 games.
It's hard to imagine now, but Allen wasn't trending in a positive direction when he first became the Bills starting quarterback. Riddick mentions in the interview how Bills head coach Sean McDermott put the right pieces around Allen, both on the coaching staff and on the field, to help Allen improve and that's what Shane Steichen needs to do for Richardson rather than just punting on him so soon.
Richardson has shown the potential to be a franchise quarterback, but the "tagging out" and yawning on the sideline are moves that will have people clamoring for the Colts to give up on him. Riddick also mentioned how Kevin O'Connell encouraged Richardson after the Colts/Vikings game, and said how he's sure other coaches would love a crack at making the former fourth overall pick their newest project.
For those still holding onto hope that Richardson can turn into something, these comments will get you excited. We'll see if the Colts decide to stick with him, or if they'll give up on him after just 10 starts. The Bills are surely glad they didn't give up on Josh Allen after 10 starts. Maybe the Colts will say the same if they stick with their former first-round pick.