Shane Steichen makes shocking announcement after Anthony Richardson's viral comment

The Indianapolis Colts lost Sunday to the Houston Texans by just three points. Though the Texans are considered the de facto winners of the AFC South already, the division technically remains competitive -- and would have been even more so had the Colts won. The Texans were highly favored to be the victors, and they were, but as the close score shows, it was a highly winnable game for the Colts. Considering how close the game ended up being, despite how badly the Colts offense played, that score could arguably be more of an indictment against the Texans than a salve for angry Colts fans.

Nevertheless, the Monday morning quarterbacking has begun, and once again, the question in the air is: should head coach Shane Steichen consider benching starting quarterback Anthony Richardson? Previously, Steichen has always been incredibly firm: Richardson is their guy, and nothing is going to change that. But his latest comments should make Richardson start to feel just a little bit nervous.

Is the Richardson era over already?

In his latest comments on the Week 8 disaster, Steichen indicated that Richardson could be benched in favor of veteran QB Joe Flacco.

Steichen first mentioned the now-infamous decision from Richardson to take himself out of the game for one play because he was tired. "We had a conversation about it this morning in the quarterback room, which I'll keep private, but obviously in those situations he knows, right, on those type of deals, you can't take yourself out," Steichen said. "It's a learned experience for him and he's gotta grow from it."

He then continued to say that everything would be questioned moving forward -- and ostensibly, that includes Richardson's position as starter. When specifically asked at what point you consider benching a young QB like Richardson as you wait for him to grow, Steichen cryptically answered, "It could go either way, right?"

When asked if he was putting Richardson in the best positions for success, Steichen seemed irritated. "We're trying like crazy," he said. "I'm always trying to constantly put him in the best positions as best as I possibly can, and sometimes it works out, Greg, and sometimes it doesn't."

Steichen finally was asked the big question: is Richardson going to be starting on Sunday? And all he would say to that is, "We are evaluating everything." When pressed to give a more firm answer as to whether or not Richardson is still the starter, Steichen added, "Right now, today, he is, yes."

Ouch.

It's a huge change of tune for Steichen, who in the past has seemed to be fully behind Richardson, making it clear that he sees him as the future of the franchise. Yet judging by these comments, Steichen isn't happy with his starting QB. What that will mean for the Colts' Week 9 battle against the Minnesota Vikings - a team that will be very difficult to beat - is still not certain. But what is sure is that Anthony Richardson, right now, has plenty of reasons to worry.