Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced that starting next Sunday, 39-year-old Super Bowl champ Joe Flacco (from his Ravens days) will be the Colts' starting quarterback, replacing 22-year-old Anthony Richardson in the NFL lineup.

“That’s how it’s going to be from here on out,” Steichen said in a press conference. “I’m just looking at where we are as a team. We’re sitting at 4-4 with a lot of games left, and I feel like Joe gives us a better shot at winning right now.”

This decision comes after Richardson, who’d been starting until last weekend, caught flak for asking to come out of a key third-and-goal play during the Texans game, saying he was “tired.” That’s pretty unusual for a QB, especially one so young, and it definitely raised some eyebrows.

His teammate Ryan Kelly, a 31-year-old veteran center who protects the QB on every play, didn’t hold back. “We talked about it; he knows that’s not the level he needs to be at, and the rest of the team knows it too. He’ll take some heat for this, and rightfully so—it’s a tough look. But he’s young, and I’m sure he’ll learn from it,” Kelly said last Monday.

Steichen clarified that this doesn’t mean the team has lost faith in Richardson, who was the fourth overall pick in last year’s Draft. “We’re not giving up on Anthony at all. He’s a young player with a ton of talent. This is just some time for him to keep developing and growing as a pro,” Steichen explained.

The Colts, currently second in the AFC South with a 4-4 record, are hoping Flacco can bring more consistency to the offense. They’ll face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 of the NFL season. Flacco, who led the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl XLVII win and snagged the MVP title, left the Ravens in 2018. Since then, he’s been on quite the journey: he played with the Broncos in 2019, the Jets in 2020, Eagles in 2021, back to the Jets in 2022, then the Browns in 2023, before joining the Colts this season.