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Dan Orlovsky Laments Colts Benching Anthony Richardson for Hindering His Development

The former NFL quarterback reacted to the Colts' decision to start Joe Flacco.

Ryan Phillips

Richardson has only made 10 starts in the NFL.
Richardson has only made 10 starts in the NFL. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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The Indianapolis Colts announced they were benching second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson on Tuesday, leading to a ton of pointed reactions. One of those came from ESPN's Dan Orlovsky.

During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Orlovsky lamented the Colts' decision, claiming Richardson has been much better than the box score would show. He also said the benching would hinder the young quarterback's development at a crucial moment.

Orlovsky agreed the Colts are better with Joe Flacco starting now. He went on to say Richardson has to develop.

"It's also at the same time necessity that he plays," Orlovsky said. "He has not played much football since high school, let alone college. He has to develop; he can't Trey Lance this. He can't go years and years and years without playing football. The only way at that spot to get better is being in those game environments. He's playing catchup reps-wise."

Orlovsky is correct, Richardson has not played much football since leaving high school. He started one game during his second season at Florida before taking over starting duties in 2022. He started 12 games and showed enough talent for the Colts to select him with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

As a rookie, Richardson only played in four games before spraining the AC joint in his shoulder. He eventually underwent shoulder surgery and was out for the season. So far in 2024 he has played in six games. That's simply not enough to determine how good he is or will be at the NFL level.

The Colts spent a top-five pick on Richardson and haven't given him the room to develop. This decision could haunt the franchise in the long term.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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