When Indianapolis Colts Head coach Shane Steichen was asked if the locker room was unified in the decision to bench the quarterback. Anthony Richardsonhe could not give an answer.

“I can’t speak for our team,” Steichen said.

Fortunately, many of Richardson’s teammates were asked about their feelings regarding his benching and his move to veteran status. Joe Flacco as a starter. Here are comments from various Colts players throughout the week and what the main takeaways should be.

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QB Joe Flacco – “I know that when I was so young, there was no way that I could have had the perspective and just the right head on my shoulders to handle it and take it in the right way. But now, being considering it’s my 17th birthday.” year I have this perspective. So if you can give him all that, it doesn’t have to be a negative thing, there are a lot of positives on his side that can come from that. This.

“Like I said, he’s very young with a bright future, and there are a lot of guys who come into this league and don’t play right away. Now I know it’s a little different because I feel like you’re getting something that was taken away from you and like I said, if I had been as young as him, there’s no way I would have taken it from there. good way, right off the bat. But I definitely think there’s a lot of positives Look, there’s a group of guys in the league that didn’t play well when they first came into the league and had. a second or third chance as they’ve sort of matured and grown up a little bit.

“I think there’s a lot of benefit to being able to step away a little bit and watch from a distance and learn and do these things. I think it’s probably — not to speak for the Colts and Shane , but you might think that’s part of the thinking process, at least a little bit, is trying to help him.

R.B. Jonathan Taylor – “Of course, I was surprised, but I just understood that it is a difficult job and that there is going to be a lot of adversity. Everyone, every individual is going to face adversity, but Ultimately, .. Just let him know, “Look, you have to stay the course. You have to be able to modify your routine where necessary, but continue to step up and be a professional every day, every. day and every week. This will take you far in this profession.

W.R. Michael Pittman Jr. – “Obviously it was a bit shocking. It took me by surprise. And that’s the good and the bad side of football, is that there are opportunities for everyone and I don’t think not that it’s over. I think he’s going to come back better from this… The way he reacts to things, I think he’s going about it the right way. He got here early and he did it. everything he did before he heard this news It’s just a testament to who he is and he’s going to continue to work at it even though it’s difficult.

W.R. Josh Downs – “Yeah, a little surprised for sure. I didn’t…I don’t know. They made that decision, so you just have to trust the coaches. But yeah, I just felt bad for 5 years. …At the end of the day, Joe is about 40 years old. So he only has a few years left, I would say. AR is 22 or 23 years old. He’s still the No. 4 overall pick and he’s just going to learn from it and he’s going to get better. So I know he’s going to do it again.

W.R. Alex Pierce – “He’s 22 years old. I think he’s going to play in the league for a long time. He’s going to have a long career. Just take it as an opportunity to sit back and learn some things, kind of let it slows down a little bit. It’s obviously frustrating, but I think he understands that this is part of his journey and it’s going to make him better in the end.

G Nelson Nelson – “And I still do (I fight for Richardson). It’s like a crazy situation, and I still have a lot of confidence in AR and I know that when he gets his next opportunity, he’ll do well. I still think He did a lot of good things while playing. He did a great job escaping pressure, avoiding sacks and he also made some good throws.

C Ryan Kelly – “I was a little surprised. Shane warned me, so I respect him for doing that. It was a good courtesy call, I guess. It’s always difficult though when you make a change like that -there during the season… I think AR handled it as well as you could.

DT DeForest Buckner – “Obviously it’s difficult when it comes to situations like this. Obviously there’s a lot of thought and discussion. …I let AR know that despite the situation, guys l ‘have always supported and we are always here for him, I just told him that we need to use this moment as a growing experience and continue to develop as a quarterback and a leader and also, I mean, don’t let this moment defines him as a player, as a leader.

kg Zaire Franklin – “I mean the reality of the situation is – unfortunately, it’s part of his journey, part of his process. You know, I called him and talked to him yesterday when the news came out or whatever, and obviously I know he’s really upset about it, but he’s a professional and he’s a great teammate. So, I know he’s going to continue to do everything he can to help his team win.

“I still believe he’s the future of this team. I know it seems crazy to everyone right now, but it’s something I still believe wholeheartedly, that he’s the future of the Indianapolis Colts. It’s tough. I wouldn’t say he’s the future of this team. I mean, look, he’s a young player who was making mistakes. who we knew we had to grow with – grow with him.

“So the things that he was struggling with or trying to work on at that time were things that we all understood, especially on the defensive side of the ball. So I would never say it was a loss of confidence because we understood that there was a loss of confidence there will be ups and downs with everything as he becomes the face of the franchise.

CB Kenny MooreII – “Stay resilient. I texted AR every time I found out about it from the media. I just told him I support him. I fully support him. Every time he gets it again opportunity, make the most of it.

Takeaways

The universal locker room reaction to the news was shock. It still seems odd that no announcement was made to the team about the change and most had to find out via social media. Regardless, it didn’t take the players very long to learn that Richardson had been benched.

If Richardson has lost the Colts locker room, his teammates are doing a tremendous job of hiding it. All of his teammates who have spoken publicly on the issue have sworn they still support Richardson and believe this isn’t the end of the road. Franklin was particularly convinced that Richardson remained the future at Indy’s quarterback position.

The two players who seemed most disappointed were Downs and Nelson. Downs has become incredibly close to Richardson since both were drafted in the spring of 2023. Nelson has repeatedly fought for his quarterback and has been one of Richardson’s most loyal supporters. Both will continue to support Richardson as he takes on this new role.

While Flacco may be the quarterback leading this team right now, Richardson, who will become the Colts’ franchise quarterback for years to come, remains the perfect ending to this entire saga. His teammates are certainly not giving up on what the young quarterback can become. We will see if this faith turns into reality in the end.

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