The Indianapolis Colts may have confidence in quarterback Anthony Richardson, but Kirk Herbstreit isn't sold quite yet.
On the Amazon Prime broadcast with Al Michaels for the Colts' preseason finale, Herbstreit boldly brought up the possibility of a quarterback conflict taking place in Indy.
This came after Richardson's erratic outing in Thursday night's finale against the Cincinnati Bengals when he completed 8-of-14 passes for 86 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a 69.3 passer rating.
"Let me ask you something here, if you're Shane Steichen. Best case scenario, Anthony Richardson, he lives up to what we all hope he can do, running, throwing, (he's) healthy. This team has a great year, and he's a superstar, right? What if he struggles? What if he has a good drive or a good game, and then a bad game, a good game and a bad game?" Herbstreit said. "Everybody's kind of expecting him to be the guy. You've got a guy like Joe Flacco — with the roster they have — I just wonder how you handle that if it goes down that path."
Michaels responded with an answer essentially saying the Colts should read the room and vibe of the locker room if it gets to that point.
Herbstreit ultimately said he hopes Richardson has a "monster year," but it's still an odd storyline to bring up in the middle of the preseason game, especially since there hasn't remotely been any indication the Colts are worried about it.
With respect to Herbstreit, the Colts have never given that type of vibe when it comes to Richardson's development since they drafted him No. 4 overall in 2023.
They've constantly talked about sticking with him through that development even when it results in the type of growing pains that showed up Thursday night.
Richardson still has a lot to prove for sure, and we've seen teams pull the leash early on quarterbacks plenty in recent seasons. The 22-year-old has 17 combined starts in college and the NFL. The Colts know he's extremely green when it comes to his starting experience.
Unless Richardson suffers another long-term injury, it's very unlikely the Colts are going to have a quarterback controversy on their hands in 2024.
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