INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay appeared sullen late on the evening of Aug. 24, 2019, as he watched the centerpiece of his franchise abruptly leave the game.

Andrew Luck was done with the NFL, the former Pro Bowl quarterback announcing his retirement just hours after a preseason game. The news hit Irsay hard because he anticipated what was to come.

The following seasons proved difficult for his team as they moved from one experienced quarterback to the next, with each possible solution more inadequate than the last.

Their boldest attempt at a solution, selecting Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick in 2023, was supposed to bring the quarterback carousel to a halt. But on Tuesday, the Colts raised a host of new questions by benching Richardson in favor of 39-year-old veteran Joe Flacco amid a challenging second season.

It’s a dramatic change in approach for the Colts, prioritizing the fate of their current season over the long-term development of their franchise quarterback. The Colts insist they are not done with Richardson, who at 22 was the NFL’s youngest starting quarterback. What this all means in the long run remains to be seen.

The Colts fell in love with Richardson before the draft, selecting him after 13 starts at Florida and vowing to commit to his success.

“It’s going to be tough,” Irsay said at the time. “We know that. But he has to play to get better. No question…We have to get Anthony on the field.”

Head coach Shane Steichen, who was hired three months before Richardson was drafted with the intention of helping develop a young quarterback, added at the time: “Guys need to get reps and learn the system and the offense. We have to.’ Build this thing around the quarterback.

As of Tuesday, this construction process was put on hold.

Richardson has the second-lowest completion rate of any player in the last 20 years with at least 100 pass attempts in a season at 44.4%. He also has the second-highest interception rate this season (5.3%), behind Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers.

After Richardson’s 10-for-32 passing performance in Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans, Steichen said Monday he had been thinking about his options and “evaluating” the position.

That assessment led Steichen and his staff to Flacco, who will start Sunday night’s game at the Minnesota Vikings while the Colts are 4-4 in a tight AFC race. The Texans (6-2) lead the division.

Steichen said Monday that Richardson’s much-criticized decision to retire for a game Sunday after back-to-back runs because he was “tired” will not play a role in his personnel decisions.

Instead, the Colts say they are powered by a strong emerging team that includes Minnesota, the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions.

“Right now we’re obviously in the middle of being at .500,” Steichen said this week. “We have to start doing our best. November is just around the corner. November, December, we have to play our best ball.”

“Everything we want to achieve is in front of us and we have to go get it.”

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Schefter: Colts benching Richardson ‘a game-changing move in many ways’

Adam Schefter joins Pat McAfee to report on the Colts’ decision to bench Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco.

FLACCO HAS PLAYED Well, since his surprising late-season run with the Cleveland Browns last season when he won the Comeback Player of the Year award. Since 2023, he ranks first in yards per game (309.1) and touchdowns per game (2.6) for QBs with at least five starts. He also has four games in which he recorded 300 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, tying him with Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott and Baker Mayfield for the most in the NFL in the same span.

Oddsmakers gave the underdog Colts a small boost following Tuesday’s news, adjusting the Colts-Vikings point spread from +6 to +5.5. Also on Tuesday, ESPN Analytics adjusted its playoff model to reflect the move, finding the Colts have a 64% chance of reaching the postseason with Flacco, versus 46% with Richardson, according to ESPN Research.

“He’s a guy who’s been doing this for a long time,” Steichen said earlier this month. “He’s seen a lot of football, which is great in that position.”

That gives Flacco an advantage over the talented Richardson, who has tied with Mitch Trubisky, the Chicago Bears’ No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft, for the fewest college starts for a quarterback selected in the first round.

But there will be some differences with Flacco under center.

The Colts won’t be as dynamic in the running game, as Richardson had significant rushing potential as a dual-threat quarterback. Richardson is sixth among quarterbacks with 242 rushing yards despite missing two games with an oblique injury.

The Colts could also have fewer explosive plays. Richardson led the NFL in air yards per pass attempt (12.3). This was largely offset by his historically low completion rate, but it also led to big games. The Colts lead the NFL with 44 pass attempts of 20 yards or longer, and Richardson has touchdown passes of 69, 60 and 54 yards this season.

The Colts are banking on Flacco’s consistency being a net gain for their offense. In four games this season, Flacco completed 65.7% of his passes — an average of 6.6 yards per game — and threw seven touchdowns and one interception.

THE LONG TERM The impact of Tuesday’s decision is more unclear.

After waiting a long time to reset their quarterback position, could the Colts be facing even more uncertainty at the position?

A team source stated that this was not the expectation.

The source insisted: “We are not giving up on Anthony. That will be the story, but that’s not the case,” adding that Richardson’s bench move and resulting downtime could be a “growth opportunity.”

The Colts named Richardson their starter after a preseason game in his rookie season. Due to injuries, including a season-ending throwing shoulder injury, Richardson played four games as a rookie. He completed 59.5% of his passes last season with three touchdowns and one interception.

“Taking a step back can be a good thing,” the team source said.

Richardson, a source close to the player said, was hit hard by the news. However, this source stated that he expects Richardson to handle the demotion professionally and remain ready if called upon.

If Richardson ultimately doesn’t become the Colts’ franchise quarterback, what does that mean for general manager Chris Ballard and Steichen? Ballard was hired in 2017 and the Colts haven’t won a playoff game since 2018. They have not qualified for the postseason since 2020.

Steichen’s quarterback expertise was a driving force behind his hiring, particularly his success with Jalen Hurts as the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator.

“Knowing that we need to find a young quarterback to develop is a key factor,” Irsay said when he introduced Steichen as his new coach in February 2023.

The Colts’ future remains uncertain at the most important position. The relief Irsay felt the night Richardson was drafted has been replaced by the fact that the Colts currently can’t say who their quarterback will be next season.

For now, when it comes to quarterback, the Colts are back where they started: looking for answers.