Michael Pittman Jr. Details How Anthony Richardson Responded To Being Benched

Colts QB Anthony Richardson faced some tough moments in 2024, leading to him getting benched in favor of veteran Joe Flacco. When asked about Richardson’s season, WR Michael Pittman said he thinks the second-year quarterback “responded well” to being moved down the depth chart and he started being more proactive about his development. 

“He responded well,” Pittman said, via ProFootballTalk. “He started showing up earlier, he started working harder. He’s putting in more hours than what he was already doing, and that’s what you want to see. We didn’t see him fold, we didn’t see him break down, and I really do think he wants to be the best version of himself and he’s doing everything the right way to get the right result.”

Pittman said their captains had a meeting during the season, which didn’t single out Richardson. He thinks the entire team needed to show improvement. 

“We had a leaders’ conference that wasn’t specifically about him, it was kind of calling everybody up. We don’t want to call anybody out, we want to call everybody up and elevate them,” Pittman said. “It wasn’t about him, it was about everybody. There were things that everybody could do to get better coming out of that meeting.”

Earlier this offseason, Colts GM Chris Ballard stated that Richardson is healthy now but wasn’t shy when discussing their concern with his lack of availability to start his career which could lead to Indianapolis targeting an established backup this offseason. 

“He’s going into the offseason healthy,” Ballard said, via ESPN’s Stephen Holder. “He’s not proven he can play 17 games. That, to me, is probably the biggest question right now, because we’re going on two seasons in a row where he’s dealt with injuries.”

Ballard wouldn’t commit to Richardson as the future of the team despite expressing his pleasure with the young signal caller.

“I don’t think we can completely stamp it,” Ballard said. “I like Anthony, and Anthony’s done some really good things. But there’s been some potholes, too.”

Richardson, 22, declared for the draft following his redshirt sophomore season in 2022 and his first as a full-time starter at Florida. The Colts selected him with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

He signed a four-year, $36,874,031 contract with a $23,817,477 signing bonus and will carry a $6,704,369 cap figure for the 2023 season. The Colts will also have a fifth-year option to decide on in 2026. 

Richardson underwent season-ending shoulder surgery to repair his AC joint after going down in Week 5 of his rookie year.

In 2024, Richardson appeared in 11 games and completed 47.7 percent of his passes for 1,814 passing yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has also rushed 86 times for 499 yards and six touchdowns.