When the Colts benched Anthony Richardson before the Week 9 game against Minnesota, it wasn’t necessarily sold as a temporary reprieve.
But that’s what it ended up being, as the second-year quarterback was moved back into his role as QB1 in Week 11.
But during that break, some of Indianapolis’ veterans met with Richardson to address some concerns they had with the young quarterback. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was one of them, and on Thursday, he praised Richardson’s response in the last four weeks.
“Him being a young player and the stage that he’s on and the pressure that he has — obviously, I can’t relate to that. I’m not a quarterback,” Buckner said, via Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan. “I can relate to it as a former first-round pick, being a team’s first pick, having all these high expectations for the guy and coming in and that type of pressure. But also, he is essentially the franchise quarterback, the guy that they brought in to be the guy to lead this team, the city, to wins.
“I just felt I needed to speak up and tell him how I felt, and that, even though he was benched, that I still believe, and we also believed he needs to know that, especially as a young player. But also know that the standard wasn’t being met. And that he needs to pick it up. And I feel like he responded really well to that. He’s shown the team on a consistent basis that he’s all in for the team. He’ll do whatever it takes for the team to get these wins and to be the best player that he can be.”
Buckner added that he’s proud of Richardson.
“A lot of guys say they want to be great,” Buckner said. “And when you get criticism from your peers or coaches, some young guys tend to get defensive with little things. But he took it, he ran with it, learned from it, and grew.”
In the last four games, Richardson has completed 50 percent of his passes for 725 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s rushed for 187 yards with four TDs. The Colts have gone 2-2 in those games.
