Falcons Won't Rush Michael Penix as Colts Backtrack with Anthony Richardson

The Atlanta Falcons received a harsh reminder Tuesday that a quarterback change can make a seismic impact on an NFL franchise.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons aren't guaranteed to play the Indianapolis Colts again until the 2027 NFL season. By then, it's anybody's best guess who will be playing quarterback for either team.

As of Tuesday, it doesn't look like it's going to be 2023 No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson for Indianapolis.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that the Colts have decided to bench Richardson in favor of starting 39-year-old Joe Flacco.

A QB change for the Colts: Indianapolis is benching former first-round pick Anthony Richardson and turning to veteran Joe Flacco, sources tell @FowlerESPN and me. Coaches met this morning and made the seismic organizational decision to change QBs. pic.twitter.com/uqANJwOwr4

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 29, 2024

Flacco is 5-2 in his last seven NFL starts. That doesn't include a victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers that he engineered in relief of Richardson this season.

But Flacco may have a year or two left in his former Super Bowl MVP body. Richardson was supposed to be the Indianapolis franchise quarterback.

Just 18 months after receiving that title while going top five in the NFL draft, Richardson's NFL future is now very much in doubt.

This is going to reverberate well beyond 2024. This changes everything. https://t.co/1nM5KmpZ6Y

— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) October 29, 2024

The Colts brass has yet to publicly comment on Richardson's future with the organization. But despite what ESPN's Stephen Holder and others might say, I'm guessing the Colts are going to publicly support Richardson and still call him their future behind center.

That will put the Colts in a position sounding awfully familiar to what the Falcons are doing this year -- start a veteran quarterback to win now but develop a rookie from the bench.

Can that still be done? It used to be all the time. But with more limited pad practice opportunities during the season than decades ago and other restrictions, it seems quarterback development without playing is a thing of the past.

Often times, there's very little quarterback development in games too. If a signal caller plays well like C.J. Stroud, he gets vaunted close to the top of every quarterback power rankings. If he plays poorly like Bryce Young, then he gets sent to the bench.

Richardson is not a rookie. He was part of the same 2023 draft class with Stroud and Young. Richardson is now the second quarterback of the class to lose his job less than two years into his career.

But with Richardson, it really hasn't even been one year. The quarterback should still be treated as a rookie since he's only 22 years old and has made 10 NFL starts.

It's not like he arrived in the NFL as a ready commodity either. Richardson played one full season in college as Florida's starting quarterback. So, he was always going to be a project.

At least with the Falcons, Michael Penix Jr. came into the league this past spring with a lot more college experience. Many pundits called for Penix to start immediately because of his age. He's two years older than Richardson.

But, at least for now, the Falcons are experiencing much more success threading the needle of winning now while trying to develop a quarterback of the future. That's because the Falcons are actually winning with Kirk Cousins behind center.

Perhaps the Colts will win more games with Flacco starting. But I like the Falcons' chances in the playoffs with Cousins more than Indianapolis' odds with Flacco.

Is there a lesson to be learned for the Falcons from how Indianapolis has gone about its quarterback situation this year? Maybe. Maybe not.

One thing appears to be clear. Whether because of his odd "tap out" for one play or something much bigger entirely, the Colts have made the move to Flacco. They won't be able to shift back to Richardson without chaos ensuing unless Flacco suffers an injury.

Quarterback changes cause too much seismic movement in the locker room and across an entire organization to do them routinely.

So, when the Falcons do make their move to Penix (in a perfect world, that might years from now), they better be damn sure it's a permanent decision. Because if he has to be benched, then that could mark the beginning of the end.