Colts QB situation has been bad, but recent ranking shows it could’ve been much worse

Although there has been incredible turnover at the quarterback position for the Indianapolis Colts, a look around the league shows things could've been worse.

Just about everyone knows that the Indianapolis Colts are preparing to enter a sixth-straight season with a different Week 1 starting quarterback. Since Andrew Luck retired, Indianapolis has turned to several veteran option. From Jacoby Brissett to Philip Rivers to Carson Wentz to Matt Ryan, things haven’t worked out for the Colts, and they’ve been unable to find stability at the quarterback position.

The hope is that 2023 fourth-overall pick Anthony Richardson will be able to change that. Indianapolis selected Richardson in this year’s draft, and everyone has high hopes for him. Even if Richardson delivers on those expectations, Colts fans will still be left with the quarterback scars from the years that preceded Richardson.

The quarterback carousel that Indianapolis was on between Luck and Richardson was a nauseating ride that no one enjoyed. However, for as much as Colts fans were going through, Indy still doesn’t have one of the worst quarterback situations over the last decade.

In a recent CBS Sports piece by Cody Benjamin, Benjamin ranked all 32 teams by their quarterback turnover over the last 10 seasons. Indianapolis, who has had a lot of turnover, was only ranked at No. 14.

Colts ranked at 14 based on quarterback turnover in the last decade

For the first half of the last decade, Andrew Luck was the starting quarterback. That saved Indianapolis a lot of trouble. When Luck was healthy and on the field, he was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and Indy was one of the best teams in the league. As previously noted, it was after Luck’s surprise retirement when things got ugly for the Colts.

Benjamin only counted QBs with four or more starts in a single season, so that resulted in Indianapolis only having six real QB1s in the last decade; 12 other teams have had it much worse. The top three teams: the Los Angels Rams, the Houston Texans, and the Cleveland Browns, all had 10 or more. Indianapolis has nothing on those teams.

Even if things weren’t as bad for Indianapolis as it was for other teams, it was still bad for Indy. Hopefully, those days are behind. The Colts now have a young quarterback that they’re prepared to develop, so that he can thrive and start for the team for the next decade.

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