Colts already playing mind-games with Vikings before Week 9 matchup
By Adam Patrick
After a few extra days off, the Minnesota Vikings returned to the practice field on Monday to begin preparations for their Week 9 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts opened up the season with Anthony Richardson as the team's starting quarterback, but after another underwhelming performance on Sunday in a loss to the Houston Texans, some are unsure if Indianapolis is going to continue with him as its starter against the Vikings.
On Monday, Colts head coach Shane Steichen was given the opportunity to eliminate any uncertainty about the team's starting quarterback situation for the game in Minnesota, but he ended up just making everything even more unclear.
Indianapolis Colts are "evaluating" whether or not to start Anthony Richardson against Minnesota Vikings in Week 9
In six games this season, Richardson has only completed 44.4 percent of his passes for 958 yards, four touchdowns, and seven interceptions. In addition, he's rushed for 242 yards and another score, however, he's also fumbled six times.
Indianapolis has still managed to win four out of its first eight games this year, but it's clear that the team has their concerns about Richardson remaining the starter for the remainder of the season.
When taking questions from reporters on Monday, Steichen revealed that the Colts are "evaluating" everything when it comes to who will start at quarterback during the team's next game.
If Richardson doesn't start on Sunday against the Vikings, the Colts will roll with 39-year-old Joe Flacco as their starting signal-caller. Flacco has appeared in four games for Indianapolis this season, completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 716 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception.
Flacco also filled in as the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback for a handful of games in 2023 and led them a 4-1 record in his five starts.
Preferably, Minnesota would probably like to face Richardson in Week 9 since he's been struggling so much this season. However, there's a good chance that the Vikings won't even find out who the Colts will select to start under center until right before the game begins next weekend.