Anthony Richardson Rumors: Colts Highlighted Jordan Love, Alex Smith to QB in Meeting

The Indianapolis Colts benched Anthony Richardson, but they reportedly aren't giving up on him and hope he follows in the footsteps of some other notable quarterbacks.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday the AFC North team believes the 22-year-old signal-caller "has a bright future" despite this benching for the veteran Joe Flacco. What's more, the Colts met with Richardson and highlighted Jordan Love and Alex Smith as quarterbacks who needed time to reach their potential in the NFL.

"It lit a fire under him," a source said of Richardson when discussing the benching.

Indianapolis surely didn't envision this scenario when it selected the Florida product with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft, but injuries and concerns about his overall passing accuracy have been the defining story of his career to this point.

Richardson has played in just 10 games while completing 50.2 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. The accuracy has been even worse this season, as he has completed 44.4 percent of his passes with four touchdowns to seven interceptions.

While the 39-year-old Flacco may give Indianapolis a better opportunity to pursue a playoff spot this season, he isn't the franchise quarterback of the future. The Colts need Richardson to figure things out, otherwise they will be back on square one when it comes to finding answers at the position.

It is notable they pointed out Smith, who had 19 touchdown passes to 31 interceptions in his first three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before eventually developing into a three-time Pro Bowler with a 99-67-1 career record as a starter.

And Love spent three years waiting his turn behind Aaron Rodgers for the Green Bay Packers before becoming a full-time starter who led the team to the playoffs last season.

There are plenty of examples of quarterbacks who either waited behind veterans or were slow starters in their NFL career and developed into impact players at the position. The Colts hope Richardson becomes the latest one.