Indianapolis Colts Name Starting Quarterback for New York Jets Showdown

The Indianapolis Colts will have a starting quarterback on Sunday that the New York Jets know quite well.

Nov 10, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) throws a pass during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen said to local reporters on Monday that their starting quarterback on Sunday will be former New York Jets starting quarterback Joe Flacco.

This was a day after Steichen said that Flacco would be the starting quarterback “until I say otherwise.” That was right after the Colts lost to the Buffalo Bills.

Flacco enters the game with 1,167 yards passing, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s played in six games, the same amount as young quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Notably, he moved into the starter role two weeks ago after Steichen benched Richardson. The former Florida star was the Colts’ first-round pick in 2023 and was supposed to be the quarterback of the future.

For now, the future is on pause. Richardson had thrown for 958 yards on just 44.4% passing, with four touchdowns and seven interceptions.

When Indianapolis benched Richardson it was 4-4. But with Flacco, the Colts (4-6) have lost their last two games. He threw for 179 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in a 21-13 loss to Minnesota. He followed that up with a 272-yard performance against Buffalo, as he threw two touchdowns and three interceptions. He did complete 74.3% of his passes.

Flacco played for the Jets twice. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with New York in 2020 as Sam Darnold’s backup. He played in five games and threw for 864 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.

In 2021 he started the season with the Philadelphia Eagles to back up Jalen Hurts. But, in October, the Eagles traded him back to the Jets for a sixth-round pick after an injury to Zach Wilson. He played just two games and threw for 338 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

New York re-signed him in 2022 to serve as the backup to Wilson and he started a handful of games for Wilson due to injury. He played in five games, throwing for 1,051 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.

His career seemed done last year before Cleveland signed him in November after a season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson. Flacco helped guide the Browns to the playoffs and threw for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions in five games. He was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Indianapolis signed him in the offseason to back up Richardson.

The 39-year-old Flacco was the Baltimore Ravens’ first-round pick in 2008 and spent the bulk of his career there. With Baltimore he led them to a victory in Super Bowl XLVII and was named the game’s MVP. He’s thrown for more than 45,000 yards in his career.