Raven Country

Former Ravens QB Named Colts Starter

An elite former Baltimore Ravens quarterback is taking over for an AFC rival.

Jon Alfano

Oct 13, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) throws during pregame warmups against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Oct 13, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) throws during pregame warmups against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
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When the Baltimore Ravens moved on from Joe Flacco after the 2018 season in favor of Lamar Jackson, few expected him to stick around for this long.

Admittedly, things looked dicey for a while, as Flacco, 39 bounced around the league with middling results as a backup. Last year, though, Flacco joined the rival Cleveland Browns and completely revived his career, completing 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions to lead his new team to a late hot streak. He even earned Comeback Player of the Year honors, beating out the player many long assumed would win the award in Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

The Browns, in their infinite wisdom, decided to let Flacco go despite his strong play, and he ended up with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason. Even in a backup role, Flacco is still playing very well as he's completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 716 yards, seven touchdowns and only one interception in four games (two starts).

Well, he's now a backup no longer. On Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Colts are handing him the reins as the starter moving forward.

Flacco's promotion comes at the expense of Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in last year's draft. Richardson, 22, was seen by many as a project player coming out of Florida, and he has absolutely played like it so far. This season, he has completed just 44.4 percent of his passes for 958 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions.

His performance in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans, in which he completed 10 of 32 passes for 175 yards, one touchdown and one interception and took five sacks, proved to be the final straw for Indy.

Richardson is now the second highly-drafted quarterback in his class to be benched this season, following former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers. Meanwhile, Houston's C.J. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in that class, is thriving and has helped transform the Texans.

Flacco's first appearance as the full-time starter will come on Sunday night when the Colts travel to face the Minnesota Vikings. Indianapolis does not play Baltimore in the regular season.

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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