JoeFlacco

News: 12 hours agoColts head coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday that Flacco will return to a backup role with Anthony Richardson having been named the team's starting quarterback for the rest of the season, JJ Stankeviz of the team's official site reports.

Spin: After Richardson was benched following the Colts' Week 8 loss to the Texans, Flacco started both of the past two contests. However, he struggled to protect the ball in losses to the Vikings and Bills, as Flacco completed 67.7 percent of his throws for a respectable 7.3 yards per attempt between the two games but tossed four interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) and lost two fumbles. Despite Flacco's struggles, Steichen previously said Monday that the 39-year-old veteran would continue to direct the offense in Week 11, only to change course on that decision two days later. Richardson has had his own issues with both accuracy (44.4 percent completion rate) and turnovers (seven interceptions, two lost fumbles) over his six starts this season, but the 4-6 Colts are hoping that the two-week benching will have the 22-year-old in a better position to succeed as he returns to the lineup this Sunday against the Jets. Meanwhile, Flacco will stay ready in the event Richardson misses time with an injury over the final seven games of 2024 before heading into free agency this offseason.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Flacco signed with the Colts as the primary backup to Anthony Richardson. It's another new landing spot for Flacco after an impressive comeback effort in 2023, in which he tossed 13 TDs and eight INTs in five regular-season games with the Browns. Flacco produced 16-plus fantasy points in all five games thanks to a newfound aggressive style of play (9.3 aDOT). The aggression led to plenty of turnovers and didn't work well in the playoff loss, however, and he remained a nonfactor with his legs (2 yards on nine carries). Flacco is 39 years old and, even if Richardson misses time, the veteran QB will be no more than a back-end QB2.