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An up and down season for the Indianapolis Colts got here crashing down final Sunday with an embarrassing 45-33 loss by the hands of the Drew Lock-led New York Giants. The consequence was a fourth consecutive season and not using a playoff look and the aftermath has led to an unpleasant peak behind the curtains into the Colts’ locker room.
Most of the points surrounded second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson, whom Indianapolis drafted with the No. 4 choose within the 2023 NFL Draft. Richardson struggled mightily within the first half of the season earlier than being benched for veteran Joe Flacco after he pulled himself out a recreation as a consequence of fatigue. Richardson finally regained the beginning job, however issues had been by no means the identical between he and his teammates.
Indianapolis Colts Gamers Are Sad With Second-Yr QB Anthony Richardson
“They had been making an attempt to carry (Richardson) accountable, which is comprehensible, however then the man they put in wasn’t the man both,” a Colts veteran advised The Athletic. “So after they went again to A.R., at that time it’s like, ‘OK, however what are we doing?’ That basically affected the staff.”
Specifically, star defensive deal with DeForest Buckner, a three-time Professional Bowler, took critical concern with Richardson’s lack of dedication to the staff.
“I signed an extension right here as a result of I believed in you,’ Buckner advised Richardson, in line with The Athletic’s Jim Trotter. “However you’ve bought to do your half.”
In the meantime, issues haven’t been straightforward for Richardson. Not solely has he didn’t carry out on the sphere, however he’s additionally handled a number of important accidents. The latest of which, a again damage, left him crawling round his residence.
Previous to final week’s loss to the Giants, staff captain Zaire Franklin additionally went on his podcast and talked smack.
“I wanna play a staff I do know we gonna spank, just like the Giants or some sh—,” Franklin stated in October. “I wanna play a staff that ain’t good with an enormous market. I’m making an attempt to get my rank up … Gimme the 4-11 Giants.”
Properly, they did play the Giants. They didn’t spank them. And now it seems the Colts are one of many league’s most dysfunctional organizations, once more.
