INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson's injured hip was too sore for him to do much at Wednesday's practice.
So 39-year-old backup Joe Flacco took snaps with the starting offense and could be in line to replace Richardson on Sunday in Jacksonville.
Flacco replaced Richardson in last weekend's 27-24 victory over previously unbeaten Pittsburgh, completing 16 of 26 throws for 168 yards and two touchdowns — and he promises he'll be ready to play if needed against the winless Jaguars.
“Being a backup quarterback, it's probably different than what you'd think it is,” he said before practice. “One of the things is just calling the plays on a daily basis, like we just did in a walk-through and I got to call the plays. When you get to call the plays, you're just that much more familiar with the game plan.”
Flacco has honed his relief skills ever since ceding the Baltimore Ravens job to Lamar Jackson following a hip injury in 2018 and suffering a season-ending neck injury after making eight starts for the Denver Broncos in 2019.
Since then, the Super Bowl 47 MVP has bounced around the league, going from the New York Jets to the Philadelphia Eagles and back to the Jets before landing in Cleveland during his 2023 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award season.
This year, Indy (2-2) signed him to help Richardson, Indy's 22-year-old franchise quarterback, and provide a steady hand if Richardson got hurt, which happened multiple times in 2023.
Richardson's four starts this season match his total from his rookie year, but he finished each of the first three games compared with just one in 2023. But he left twice against Pittsburgh (3-1), first after getting hit hard on his right hip during a designed run and again three plays later when he appeared to take another big shot, this time to his head. He did not return after the second hit.
“We're just taking this day by day, just seeing how I'm feeling and seeing if I'll be ready to roll out there on Sunday,” Richardson said. “Whenever my body let's me know I'm good, that's really the main thing right now, I'll be back out there.”
How long that takes remains unclear.
Flacco noted Richardson appeared to be walking around the locker room just fine, and it's possible Richardson returns to the field Thursday after doing limited work Wednesday. Coach Shane Steichen also said Wednesday that Richardson might play even if he didn't practice.
Complicating matters this week are injuries to top rusher Jonathan Taylor and two starting offensive linemen — center Ryan Kelly and right tackle Braden Smith. None of the three practiced Wednesday.
Taylor couldn't finish the Pittsburgh game after spraining his ankle, a problem that has plagued him each of the past two seasons. Kelly was inactive last week because of a neck injury and Smith played despite being on Indy's injury report last week.
“He’s feeling really good, so we’ll see how it goes today, see how the week goes,” Steichen said, referring to Richardson. “If he feels good and he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there for sure. I’ve got a lot of faith in him, regardless of how much he practices.”
Should Flacco get the call Sunday, he'll be trying to snap a losing streak of nine straight road games against winless Jacksonville (0-4). It's a skid Flacco is aware of even though this is his first season in Indy. He hasn't won in Jacksonville since 2016.
The good news for the Colts is that Flacco thrived in a similar role last season with the Browns and was well-suited to do it again when he made his Colts debut last weekend against a team he knew well from his days in Baltimore.
This time, however, Flacco will at least spend some practice time working with Indy's starters, something he didn't really have much of a chance to do in training camp or the preseason. And if Richardson can't play, it will only help Flacco calling plays.
“My role right now is to just kind of go out there, take it day by day and make sure that we can go out there and have a good practice,” Flacco said. "For me, it’s an advantage to at least go out there and get some practice reps.”