Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson’s sore hip limited him during Wednesday’s practice. As a result, 39-year-old backup Joe Flacco took snaps with the starting offense and might replace Richardson on Sunday in Jacksonville.
Flacco stepped in for Richardson during last weekend’s 27-24 win over the previously unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers, completing 16 of 26 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He assured that he will be ready to play if needed against the winless Jaguars.
“Being a backup quarterback, it’s probably different than what you’d think it is,” he said before practice. “One of the things is just calling the plays on a daily basis, like we just did in a walk-through and I got to call the plays. When you get to call the plays, you’re just that much more familiar with the game plan.”
Flacco has sharpened his skills as a backup since losing the starting job to Lamar Jackson with the Baltimore Ravens due to a hip injury in 2018, followed by a season-ending neck injury after making eight starts for the Denver Broncos in 2019.
Since then, the Super Bowl 47 MVP has played for various teams, including the New York Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles, and back to the Jets before joining the Cleveland Browns for his 2023 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award season.
This year, Indianapolis (2-2) signed him to support Richardson, the team’s 22-year-old franchise quarterback, and to provide stability in case Richardson got hurt, which happened several times in 2023.
Richardson’s four starts this season match his total from his rookie year, but he finished all three of the first games this time, compared to just one last year.
He left the game against Pittsburgh (3-1) twice: first after taking a hard hit on his right hip during a designed run, and again three plays later after taking another big hit, this time to his head. He did not return after the second hit.
“We’re just taking this day by day, just seeing how I’m feeling and seeing if I’ll be ready to roll out there on Sunday,” Richardson said. “Whenever my body lets me know I’m good, that’s really the main thing right now, I’ll be back out there.”
It’s unclear how long this will take.
Flacco mentioned that Richardson seemed to be walking fine in the locker room, and he might return to the field on Thursday after doing limited work on Wednesday. Coach Shane Steichen also said that Richardson might play even if he didn’t practice.
Adding to the challenges this week are injuries to top rusher Jonathan Taylor and two starting offensive linemen—center Ryan Kelly and right tackle Braden Smith. None of the three practiced on Wednesday.
Taylor couldn’t finish the Pittsburgh game after spraining his ankle, which has been a recurring issue for him in the past two seasons. Kelly was out last week due to a neck injury, and Smith played even though he was on the injury report last week.
“He’s feeling really good, so we’ll see how it goes today, see how the week goes,” Steichen said about Richardson. “If he feels good and he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there for sure. I’ve got a lot of faith in him, regardless of how much he practices.”
If Flacco has to play on Sunday, he’ll be trying to end a nine-game losing streak in road games against the winless Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4). Flacco is aware of this streak, even though it’s his first season in Indianapolis. He hasn’t won in Jacksonville since 2016.
The good news for the Colts is that Flacco did well in a similar situation last season with the Browns and was well-prepared when he made his Colts debut last weekend against a team he knows well from his time in Baltimore.
This time, however, Flacco will at least get some practice time with Indianapolis’s starters, something he didn’t get much chance to do during training camp or the preseason. If Richardson can’t play, this will help Flacco with calling plays.
“My role right now is to just kind of go out there, take it day by day and make sure that we can go out there and have a good practice,” Flacco said. “For me, it’s an advantage to at least go out there and get some practice reps.”
