Tight end T.J. Hockenson is set to make his 2024 debut on Sunday night against the Colts.
Hockenson was activated from injured reserve after last Thursday’s loss to the Rams and he fully participated in practice every day this week. That suggested he was ready for his first appearance since last season’s knee injury and head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Thursday that he thinks Hockenson is ready to go.
The team confirmed that on Friday when the final injury report of the week was released and it showed no injury designation for Hockenson.
Linebacker Blake Cashman (toe) is out for the third straight game. Defensive end Taki Taimani (ankle) is also out and cornerback Akayleb Evans (hip) is listed as questionable.
Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy shared a strange story about his draft night experience in the hours before learning he would play in Kansas City.
Worthy said on the Rich Eisen Show that the Colts, who picked Laiatu Latu with the 15th overall pick, called Worthy when they were on the clock, making him think he was going to Indianapolis — until they hung up on him without explanation.
“I got a call at 15 . . . it was the Colts, hung up the phone in my face. It was a little crazy,” Worthy said. “The Colts called my phone on draft day and hung up the phone. They said, ‘Hello, this is so and so with the Colts.’ And then the call — they stopped talking and they hung up.”
Asked if he’s sure it wasn’t just a disconnection, Worthy said he is.
“I’m positive,” Worthy said.
In fairness to the Colts, it’s hard to understand how Worthy could be positive it was intentional and not an accidental disconnect, or that it wasn’t a prank call. But Worthy has no hard feelings and is happy with where he ended up, even though he wasn’t expecting to go to Kansas City.
Worthy said he didn’t realize the Chiefs were interested in him, and that when he got a call with the 28th pick on the clock, he assumed it was the Bills, who originally owned that pick. But it was Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach telling Worthy Kansas City had traded up with Buffalo and would be drafting him.
“I heard from other teams. I never heard from the Chiefs,” Worthy said. “When they were on the clock I thought the call was Buffalo. And then it said K.C., it was the Chiefs, exactly where I wanted to be.”
Colts center Ryan Kelly has played with a dozen quarterbacks since he was selected in the first round of the 2016 draft.
At a certain point, he’d like the revolving door to stop.
Kelly told reporters on Thursday that he was “a little surprised” head coach Shane Steichen made the switch from Anthony Richardson to Joe Flacco this week to start against the Vikings. Though Steichen did give Kelly a heads up.
“I respected him for doing that,” Kelly said, via Mike Chappell of Fox 59 Indianapolis. “It was a good courtesy call, I guess.”
Still, Kelly was candid when asked if he was frustrated by another QB change.
“I mean, I’d be lying to you if I said no,’’ Kelly said. “It’s 12 guys. Can name them all. Good friends with all of them. Just kind of reality, right? In some ways, it’s a blessing. I think I get to learn a lot from these different quarterbacks and . . . remember who they are.
“But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’d like to have a guy for the first time I walked in the door ‘till the last time I left.’’
The 12 quarterbacks are Richardson, Flacco, Gardner Minshew, Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, Nick Foles, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Jacoby Brissett, Brian Hoyer, Andrew Luck and Scott Tolzien.
The Colts will have Flacco behind Kelly on Sunday and going forward this season. But with Flacco at 39 years old, it’s clear he’s not the team’s long-term option.
Every decision made by an NFL head coach is defended by citing “the best interests of the team.” As it relates to the benching of Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, what really are the best interests of the team?
It depends on the lens through which those interests are viewed. Right now, it’s better for the team to have Joe Flacco play quarterback, in order to get to the playoffs. Over the long haul, is it truly better for the team to not let Richardson continue to learn through repetition?
The reality is that it’s not in the best interests of coach Shane Steichen and his staff to do that, because they might reasonably fear they won’t be there by the time Richardson begins to figure it out. Ditto for G.M. Chris Ballard, who could be out of chances to stabilize the quarterback position if the revolving door of signal-callers doesn’t result in a playoff berth this year.
That’s why “best interests of the team” ultimately doesn’t mean anything. It’s just what gets said to justify whatever has been done.
And while the move could help the Colts make it to the playoffs now, it won’t help them later, not if Richardson will only become the best and most consistent version of himself that he’ll ever be by playing through the rough spots.
That said, there’s a chance that the Colts believe Richardson can’t learn whatever he needs to learn without being humbled. His comments after Sunday’s loss to the Texans regarding his passing abilities seem to lack self-awareness. He needs to realize that one great throw doesn’t make up for a bunch of not-great ones.
We don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes. Maybe the Colts concluded that Richardson needed a wake-up call. Maybe the Colts hope that Richardson, if sufficiently humbled, will become committed to doing everything in his power to become the best quarterback he can be.
The decision to tap out on Sunday because he was tired becomes proof that, at some level, Richardson doesn’t “get it.” Before they can get him to become what he was drafted to be, they need to get him to a spot where he does indeed “get it.” Then, ideally, everything will flow from there.
After he was activated off the physically unable to perform list late last week, tight end T.J. Hockenson appears set to make his 2024 debut on Sunday.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters in his Wednesday press conference that Hockenson should be good to go for the Week 9 matchup against the Colts.
“I think T.J. is ready to play, as good as he has really looked since we’ve gotten him here and that’s saying something considering the impact he made right away in ’22 and then the season he was having last year at the time when he got hurt,” O’Connell said. “I know he is excited. Everyone is excited to have him back out there. Huge part of our system and offense and organization to have 87 back out there.”
As for playing time, O’Connell didn’t explicitly mention a seat restriction. But the team does have other options at the position who have been effective so far this season.
“Just naturally how it works out at that position with having a guy like Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt who have done some really good things, I think it will naturally work itself out,” O’Connell said.
Hockenson was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, according to Minnesota’s first injury report of the week.
Before suffering a torn ACL and MCL, Hockenson had caught 95 passes for 960 yards with five touchdowns in 15 games.
Anthony Richardson no longer is the Colts’ starting quarterback, and this time not because of an injury. But Richardson does have two new injuries.
The Colts list Richardson as a full participant on Wednesday’s practice report with injuries to his left wrist and left shoulder.
He was on the practice report in Weeks 5-7 with an oblique injury that kept him out two games.
Richardson has missed 15 games because of injuries in his career, with a concussion and then a shoulder injury keeping him out of 13 games last season.
This week, and perhaps the rest of the season, Richardson won’t play because of his poor performance. He has completed only 44.4 percent of his passes for 958 yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He will back up Joe Flacco this week.
“I got a lot of confidence in myself, and I definitely believe I will have the opportunity to [start] again,” Richardson said, via JJ Stankevitz of the team website. “But as of right now, we got games to focus on right now, and I’ve got to step into my role and take advantage of it.”
The Colts practiced without wide receiver Josh Downs (toe), center Ryan Kelly (calf/knee), wide receiver Michael Pittman (back), offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann (concussion) and offensive tackle Braden Smith (knee).
Dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things.
For the Colts, who are trying their damnedest not to be dysfunctional, the handling of the benching of quarterback Anthony Richardson was far from ideal. The players didn’t find out from the coaching staff; receiver Michael Pittman Jr. — a captain — learned about the move on social media.
That’s what Pittman said Wednesday, via James Boyd of TheAthletic.com.
Yes, the players are usually off on Tuesday. But their phones still work. And it makes sense for them to hear about such an important move from the team, not from Twitter.
Does it matter? It’s evidence of things not working in the ideal way.
You know, like the quarterback tapping out of a game because he was tired.
The Colts hope the quarterback change will propel them to the postseason. The way the change was handled shows that the organization remains a click of two away from operating like the best teams in the NFL operate.
The Colts are going with Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback for this Sunday’s game against the Vikings and for the foreseeable future, which means that 2023 first-round pick Anthony Richardson will be heading to the bench.
Richardson got his first chance to respond to that change when he spoke to reporters at the team’s facility on Wednesday. Richardson said “of course it hurts” to be demoted to the second team, but that he will use “this moment as an opportunity to grow.” Richardson also said that he feels he will get another chance in Indianapolis.
“I feel like there is an opportunity for me to step back on the field. When it does present itself, I’m gonna take advantage of it,” Richardson said, via Dominic Miranda of WTHR.
Richardson said that head coach Shane Steichen did not say whether his decision to ask out of last Sunday’s game for a play because he was tired factored into the decision, but he knows he “can’t do that as a leader, especially as the quarterback of this team.” He added “you live and learn” and Richardson’s learning process for the near future will have to come from observation rather than playing.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen confirmed that the team is making a quarterback change on Wednesday and he said it’s not a temporary move.
Steichen told reporters at a Wednesday press conference that Joe Flacco is the team’s starting quarterback “going forward.” Steichen said after last Sunday’s loss to the Texans that the team would be evaluating everything with former starter and 2023 first-round pick Anthony Richardson and word that Flacco would be replacing him for this Sunday’s game against the Vikings broke on Tuesday.
Richardson has made 10 NFL starts, which some would argue is not enough time to develop into an NFL starter especially when Richardson came into the league short on starting experience in college. Steichen said that the move to Flacco should not be taken as a sign that the team is throwing in the towel on the second-year player.
“A tough decision, but one that I felt was in the best interest in our football team,” Steichen said, via Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan. “Joe gives us the best chance to win right now. With that being said, we’re not giving up on Anthony by any means. We’re really not. He’s a young player with a ton of talent. He’ll use this time to continue to develop and grow as a professional.”
Richardson will need full-speed reps to get better at some point, but the Colts are prioritizing the team’s present over his future for the time being and hoping that they can wind up better off in both time periods as a result.
In the 2023 draft, three of the top four picks were quarterbacks. To date, two of the three have been benched.
After two weeks, Bryce Young — the first overall pick, made by the Panthers after trading up from No. 9 — was removed from the starting lineup for Andy Dalton. After eight weeks, the fourth pick, Anthony Richardson, has been benched for Joe Flacco.
The exception to date has been Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, the second overall pick and the 2023 NFL offensive rookie of the year.
Stroud’s Houston team keeps thriving. The Texans, at 6-2, are on track for a second straight playoff berth. The Panthers, in contrast, are the worst team in the league. The Colts, at 4-4, could make the postseason. If they do, it’ll happen with Joe Flacco playing quarterback.
The future for both Young and Richardson is murky at best. Young has started 19 games, winning only two. (He returned to the lineup on Sunday, because Andy Dalton was injured.) Richardson has 10 starts.
While it’s highly unlikely that either will be traded by Tuesday’s deadline, it’s fair to wonder what the offseason will bring. The Panthers likely will be looking for a new starter. The Colts could give Richardson a fresh start in Indy. Unless some other team that coveted Richardson makes the Colts an offer they won’t refuse.
Then there’s the possibility of a regime change in Indy. That would likely expedite Richardson’s exit.
However it plays out, it’s another example of young quarterbacks failing in their first NFL stops. With, as we’ve seen this year, the possibility that they will figure it out with a new team, in time.
For Young and Richardson, the time could come as soon as 2025. Barring what would be a surprise trade of either or both within the next six days.
