Raven Country

Colts Bench Former Ravens QB

A former Baltimore Ravens icon is headed back to the bench.

Jon Alfano

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. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
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. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
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Well, Baltimore Ravens legend Joe Flacco's run as the Indianapolis Colts' starter didn't last long.

On Wednesday, the Colts announced that they are benching Flacco and going back to Anthony Richardson as their starting quarterback going forward. This comes just two weeks after the Colts benched Richardson in favor of Flacco, claiming that the latter would start going forward.

In the past two games, Flacco completed 42 of 62 passes for 451 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Most importantly, Indianapolis lost both of those games, first against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 27 and then against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The Colts are now 4-6 on the season, and while they're only one game back of the final AFC wild card spot, they probably value developing the young Richardson than pushing just to make the playoffs and not much more. It's a messy situation, but there is some logic.

Flacco, 39, spent his first 11 NFL seasons in Baltimore and led the team to great success, most notably a Super Bowl 47 title. In 163 career starts for the Ravens, he completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 38,245 yards, 212 touchdowns and 136 interceptions. To this day, he's still the franchise leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.

The former Super Bowl MVP's run with the Ravens came to an unceremonious end in 2018, when a mid-season hip injury thrust then-rookie Lamar Jackson into action. Jackson took the starting role and never looked back, leading to the Ravens trading Flacco to the Denver Broncos the following offseason. He then bounced around the league for a bit, but couldn't hold down a starting role for long.

It wasn't until last season that Flacco put himself back on the map. He joined the Cleveland Browns late in the season, and proceeded to lead them to the postseason as he completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions in just five games. After winning four of his five starts, Flacco won Comeback Player of the Year in stunning fashion.

Flacco hasn't been able to recapture that same magic in Indianapolis, though, and it's resulted in him heading back to the bench.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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