For 13 years, four of which ended with Pro Bowl selections, Jeff Saturday was a star center for the Indianapolis Colts. There was the ill-advised dalliance as the team’s head coach in 2022, but that should not dampen his reputation as an all-time great for the franchise.
Saturday knows a little bit about the running of the Colts, and he was not exactly surprised that the team chose to bench second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson this week in favor of Joe Flacco.
Richardson has been among the worst starters in the NFL, with a 44.4% completion rate and a 57.2 quarterback rating. He’s thrown four touchdowns and seven interceptions, and did not endear himself to the team’s fans (or his teammates) when he decided to ask out of Sunday’s loss to Houston for a play because he was fatigued.
Saturday said on Wednesday’s “First Take” program on ESPN that the benching makes sense–as long as the Colts have a long-term plan.
“I am good with the benching, short term. I am not an advocate of him being benched long-term,” Saturday said. “I get the tapping thing–he hasn’t played well. … Now, you’re comparing him to Joe Flacco, but he is not going to be as effective as Joe Flacco. Because he hasn’t played like Joe Flacco has.”