A Tired Quarterback, Or a Tired Mindset?

In last Sunday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, the Colts 22-year-old quarterback Anthony Richardson “tapped-out” of the game following a play where he’d be scrambling. It left the team surprised and unprepared for the third-and-goal play that followed.

So far in his young career, Richardson is one of the most athletic quarterbacks to step onto an NFL field. His speed and agility are his strengths, and he spends considerable time running around the field eluding tacklers, trying to make big plays to help his team win. But after this particular play, he tapped his helmet signaling he needed to leave the field and made his way to the sideline.

At the post-game press conference, reporters asked what caused him to take himself off the field. “Tired, I ain’t gonna lie,” Richardson said after the game. “That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to go that next play. So, I just told (Colts coach Shane Steichen) I needed a break right there.”

Reactions from former players, coaches, and analysts were harsh and immediate - as though this is the most offensive thing seen on the field in years. “What makes him think this is acceptable?” asked former NFL coach Rex Ryan during a rant on ESPN. Former QB and analyst Dan Orlovsky was in disbelief stating that, “when it comes to physical exertion, no one’s job is easier on game day than the quarterback. I can’t fathom Anthony saying this.” And on Fox NFL Sunday former coach Jimmy Johnson commented that he “would have left him out there,” as if that would be teaching the young quarterback a lesson well deserved.

Other reactions have eluded to senses of entitlement, weak leadership, a lack of respect for teammates, and for the game itself.

Two days later, Anthony Richardson was officially benched as the Colts quarterback moving forward. Granted, his overall performance was enough to get him benched as he experiences growing pains (like most young quarterbacks), but this incident appeared to be the nail in that coffin.

His future in the league is being questioned, despite being the 4th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft and signing a $34 million contract to be the Colts quarterback.

If Richardson said he’d gotten a stomach cramp or pulled muscle that he needed a moment to deal with, it would have been a non-event. He might still be the Colts starting quarterback, and untold hours of media rants could have been directed at other targets.

But the question it raises for me is, isn’t the objective to win the game? If a player, regardless of position, knows he won’t be at his best on the next play shouldn’t he act in the best interest of the team and allow them to substitute in a player who is 100% ready to go?

Players are substituted continuously throughout football games at all levels – from youth leagues, through college, and into the NFL. A receiver or running back jogging off the field after a long play is a common sight. Defenses change personnel on almost every snap both to match offensive personnel and to keep players fresh. But unless injured, quarterbacks are expected to stay on the field for every play.

These reactions reveal to me that far too many minds in the game are still stuck in the NFL’s historic machismo mindset of toughness and tradition over strategy, and quite frankly, over winning. After all, this is the league that despite all the research on head injuries just banned the infamous Oklahoma drill (where two players line up three yards from each other and at the sound of a whistle charge full speed ahead to knock the other down) in 2019.

For decades quarterbacks were giant statues of men that stood frozen in the pocket and threw the ball downfield according to the play that was called. The few that could move laterally to avoid a tackle or two were considered marvels of athleticism.

Today, some quarterbacks (including Richardson specifically) are the fastest players on the field. They rush for more yards than some running backs while also throwing more touchdowns than their statuesque predecessors. And, when they get hit it’s by bigger, faster, stronger players at every position. Why would we think they wouldn’t, or shouldn’t get tired? How often are they too tired to be effective? Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, perhaps the most athletic quarterback we’ve ever seen, has drawn criticism for inaccurate passes in big moments. He’d never admit it, but how many of them are thrown when he’s completely gassed from sprinting all over the field on the play before?

Without realizing it, Richardson’s honesty signaled a wake-up call for those willing to hear it. Two quarterback systems, where quarterbacks alternate possessions or even periods of play, have never had sustainable success at the pro or college level. But for those teams that have an athletic quarterback (like Richardson, Jackson and others) who is going to give your team an incredible advantage to win games on their feet as well as through the air, why not anticipate and plan for giving them three to five plays off during the game just for rest?

A handful of plays could be scripted for the backup quarterback that the entire offense knows will be used, and that quarterback would be on standby to enter the game and run the next one on the list after the starting quarterback breaks off a thirty-yard run. It would be anticipated, strategically used throughout the game so that the quarterback never has to tap-out to initiate it. You wouldn’t use it late in a close game, because if you got your quarterback a breather or two when they needed it, you wouldn’t have to.

I don’t know if Anthony Richardson will end up being a successful quarterback or not. But I do think he created an opportunity for those that can see past their manliness enough to see it.