Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard didn’t hide his feelings earlier this week when reflecting on second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson’s positive performances since returning to the starting lineup after a two-week absence.
“I’m really as proud as I’ve ever been of a player,” he said. “We have a long way to go with this young man, but getting benched and how he’s handled bouncing back from it …”
Ballard paused before adding, “For him to be able to take a step back and really evaluate, ‘Hey, I’ve got all of these people telling me these things, and they’re real, so let me work on them,’ that showed a lot of maturity and character.”
Roughly 600 miles to the south, similar words were being spoken about Bryce Young, the second-year Carolina Panther who has looked the part of a budding franchise quarterback since returning from an early season benching. He has guided the offense to 20 points or more in five consecutive games after doing so just three times in his first 19 starts. Instead of appearing skittish or tentative, he has looked poised and confident.
It would be easy to treat these cases as end-of-the-year footnotes, but we shouldn’t. We should stop and celebrate Young and Richardson because of the resilience, class and character they’ve demonstrated in their handling of difficult and embarrassing situations.
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Admittedly, applauding someone for acting with professionalism sounds like a low bar — which is what it should be. But in a world that seemingly tilts further each day toward rewarding narcissistic behavior and a refusal to accept personal responsibility, the displays of maturity and accountability are breaths of fresh air.
Instead of sulking or throwing entitlement tantrums as high draft picks — Young was selected first overall, Richardson fourth — they listened to the reasons for the demotions, refocused and went to work. They didn’t point fingers or make excuses, which Young easily could have done considering he’s already on his third head coach, including an interim, and is learning his second offense in as many seasons. Complementary talent? If you can name his top three receivers, you’re either related to them or a fantasy nerd.
“I’m so proud of you dude.” 🥹
Such a cool moment between @bakermayfield and @_bryce_young 🤝 #TBvsCAR pic.twitter.com/pnTbHEfJpC
— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2024
Which makes his failure to lash out at critics more laudable. ESPN media personality Stephen A. Smith described Young as “maybe the biggest bust in NFL history,” which was so ridiculous it could challenge for the dumbest comment in NFL history. Ever heard of Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell and Brian Bosworth, to name a few?
In Young’s rookie season, the Panthers changed offensive play callers after six games, then nine games, and again after 11 games. How many players are going to succeed in that situation? And in Year 2, he has to deal with another head coach and a new offense, without impactful threats on the perimeter.
Thankfully, the former Alabama star means it when he says the only opinions he listens to are those of his teammates, coaches and family. One of his first stops after being benched was Dan Morgan’s office. Morgan is the president of football operations/general manager and asked to see Young to reiterate the organization’s belief in him.
“Other than your parents, you’re not going to have a bigger fan than myself,” Morgan told him, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
Morgan added: “I was here when we drafted you, and I want you to be great more than you even know.”
Young didn’t need the reassurance, but it was good to hear. The plan was to get him back on the field at some point later in the year, but that moment came sooner than later after Andy Dalton was involved in a car accident. Dalton was not seriously injured, but he was banged up and missed a couple of days of practice, opening the door for Young to return to the field.
In his first game back as the starter, the former Heisman winner completed 24 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. The completions and yards ranked fourth best in his career to that point, and the touchdowns tied for second best.
Overall, he has completed 60.4 percent of passes for 1,062 yards and six touchdowns since returning in Week 8. He has thrown just three interceptions, including none in the last three games. Carolina has gone 2-3 during the stretch, matching its win total for all of last season.
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Richardson may have saved Indianapolis’ season Sunday, rallying the Colts for a 25-24 victory over the New England Patriots. Indy trailed by seven with just under six minutes to play, but Richardson drove the offense 80 yards for the decisive scores, converting on three fourth downs, including fourth-and-goal from the 2, then rushing in with the two-point conversion.
“Two of the last three weeks he’s had winning drives in clutch moments — I mean clutch,” Ballard said. “Against New England, we eat the clock up and leave 12 seconds on it. It was a thing of beauty. The drive was 19 plays. Nineteen. I got teary-eyed watching it. I really did.”
Anthony Richardson delivered with the game on the line 🥶 @GVOaant | @wingstop pic.twitter.com/KHzhet6vVA
— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2024
Like with Young, Richardson had no interest in making excuses. He listened and learned. The team has what it calls a leadership council, which is composed of roughly a dozen players. The group meets regularly with Ballard and coach Shane Steichen to discuss whatever is on their minds. One such meeting took place two games after Richardson was benched. Richardson was present.
Linebacker Zaire Franklin and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner were among those who made it clear to Richardson that they support and believe in him. “I signed an extension here because I believed in you,” Buckner said. “But you’ve got to do your part.”
“I think that hit Anthony, I really do,” Ballard said. “When you hear your peers, that’s powerful.”
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There’s a saying that you don’t know what you don’t know, and Richardson may have thought he was working hard without realizing there were higher levels he could reach on the field, in the classroom, and during treatment. In the final game before he was benched, he removed himself at a critical point near the goal line because he said he was “tired” from earlier scrambles. The comment went viral, as did the criticisms that came back at him.
While not the overriding reason for sitting Richardson, it was another piece to the puzzle. Ballard and Steichen believed the game needed to slow for Richardson and he could benefit from watching a veteran like Joe Flacco, who won a Super Bowl with Baltimore. The goal was to keep things from going from bad to worse.
“Looking back on it, I wish we hadn’t played him as a rookie,” Ballard said. “John Dorsey (a longtime personnel man) called me and said, ‘Don’t play him.’ John had had the great wisdom from Green Bay, where they sat all those quarterbacks (Aaron Rodgers backed up Brett Favre for three seasons, and Jordan Love sat behind Rodgers for two years). And as they mature and get older, they pick up habits that we were expecting Anthony to have from the get-go.”
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Rather than shrink or sulk, Richardson went to work. On himself. On his game. The plan was always to get him back on the field, but the Colts didn’t expect Flacco to struggle so badly. In two games he committed six turnovers, so they turned back to Richardson.
Among the strongest voices in his corner was No. 3 quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who suggested Richardson read the book “Atomic Habits,” which outlines the steps involved with building a habit, and how small, consistent habits can result in significant changes over time.
“I remember walking into one of the rooms one day, and there were all these notes on the board from Sam and Anthony, and it was talking about goals and outcome and process and identity,” Ballard said. “It was deciding who you want to be and proving it with your habits. The last line was: Habits lead to you trusting yourself and you don’t have to be perfect. Anthony was beating himself up because he wanted to be perfect. …
“He’s not there yet, but he’s working to get better each day at all the things he needs to get better at. It’s a process. He’s 22 years old. I was so upset at the bullshit that was said after we benched him. Are people that clueless? They were saying he’s a bust, that he’s done. I told our local people, ‘We’re not done with this guy.’ Nobody believed it. To watch him these last three weeks, I couldn’t be more proud.”
Years from now, people may look at this season as the period Young and Richardson took major strides toward becoming legitimate franchise quarterbacks. Whether they reach that goal remains to be seen. But that doesn’t mean we should not, for a moment, recognize their resilience and character. History is filled with others who failed to handle adversity as well.
(Image: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; Photos, from left: Lauren Leigh Bacho / Getty Images; Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
