Colts May Have Surprising Quarterback Start Against Jaguars

As the Indianapolis Colts get ready for their Week 5 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, they may have to do so without starting quarterback Anthony Richardson. Richardson has been dealing with an injury since he left last week’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers early on.

Now with only a few days remaining until kickoff, backup quarterback Joe Flacco has been taking most of the first-team reps. This could be a hint signaling what the Colts are planning for this weekend.

Looks like #Colts QB Joe Flacco is taking most, if not all, of the first-team reps today. Anthony Richardson is standing behind Flacco right now and just watching him throw during a red zone/end zone drill.

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 4, 2024

If Flacco does start against the Jaguars, it could see the Indianapolis offense take off. He served them extremely well last week against Pittsburgh, throwing for 168 yards and two touchdowns after taking over for Ricardson.

The veteran quarterback continues to make an impact within the league and he could see his next chance come this weekend. He was the Cleveland Browns starter for much of last season after Deshaun Watson went down with an injury. Flacco led the Browns to the playoffs but was unable to go any farther.

But the injury to Richardson does bring up some concerning narratives. After he suffered an injury last season that ended his year after just four games, the talk of him being injury-prone has been brought up.

However, Richardson seemed to push back on that thought.

“I mean, it’s football,” Richardson said, via Pro Football Talk. “I’m pretty sure if they got out of the house and came out here and got hit by somebody that’s running 20-plus miles per hour every week, I’m pretty sure they’d be sore dealing with injuries as well.

“People are going to talk. That’s what people do. I’m not necessarily worried about it, I’m just trying to focus on getting better day by day.”

On the year, Richardson has thrown for 654 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. He has been turnover-prone, which isn’t a great sign for a young quarterback.

Richardson has also seen a low competition percentage this season, ranking last in the NFL at 50.6 percent. He also hasn’t been very good with a clean pocket either, coming in at completing 53 percent of his passes.

It’s still early in his career but these are some concerning measures for Richardson. But if he can’t go on Sunday, Flacco has shown that he can lead this team and will try to get Indianapolis their second win of the season.

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