Joe Flacco reveals thoughts on state of NFL QB development 

“In a perfect world, a young quarterback would sit,” Ballard said. “Just in a perfect world. We weren’t living in a perfect world. You would have a vet quarterback who’s winning, and you could sit a guy for two or three years and let him play, but that was not a luxury that we were afforded. I even told Shane (Steichen) that I wish, looking back, I wish we would have sat him no matter what, but we didn’t. We played him. He got hurt. Did that setback his development? Yes.”

Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco spoke on The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima on 92.3 The Fan, a Cleveland-based sports radio station, to discuss the differences between the state of quarterback development from when he first drafted in 2008 compared to 2025.

In 2024, Flacco signed a one-year deal to join the Colts as a backup behind quarterback Anthony Richardson. Before the Week 9 Sunday Night Football game in Minnesota last season, Flacco took the reins to replace Richardson after the second-year QB was benched for two games following what Colts head coach Shane Steichen described as a “lack of preparation”. The Colts essentially made a drastic change from the NFL’s youngest starting QB to the oldest starting QB as Flacco started six games and finished with a 2-4 record.

The 40-year-old is set to enter Year 18 in the NFL and has experience holding down the fort for the next rising prospect like he did in Baltimore. Flacco revealed his thoughts on how NFL franchises are choosing to develop young QBs through the ring of fire compared to how it was handled when he was a rookie.

“Everybody wants to get everybody out there right away,” Flacco said. “Listen, I get it. When I was a rookie, I wanted to play right away. That wasn’t the plan, but I did want to play right away. I think these days though, you don’t have to commit as much money in the draft with these guys. I think it’s become a little easier to draft these guys a little bit higher, so now you are getting guys that haven’t played a ton of college games, and you’ve drafted them so high, so now there’s a lot of pressure to get these guys on the field right away.

“Just by the sheer numbers of it, you’re going to get a couple of guys that were probably drafted a little bit higher than they would have been 15 to 20 years ago. Because you would have had to make a big commitment to them moneywise 20 years ago that you don’t quite have to make now. Then because you do draft them so high, you have to play them, so now there’s just naturally going to be a couple of guys here and there that maybe you drafted in the top five or top 10, that maybe 20 years ago, they would have been second-round picks and they would have been willing to keep them on the bench for a little bit. But now because they are the third pick overall, you have to play them, and they are not ready. Then mentally, it hurts their development.”

Richardson was drafted fourth overall by the Colts in the 2023 NFL Draft after just one season as a starter at Florida. Indianapolis brass made the collective choice to hand a 21-year-old prospect the keys to its once-storied franchise.

“Hindsight is always 20/20,” Ballard told reporters during his end-of-season press conference in January. “Somebody called me to talk about this earlier and I visited with him. I thought he was good. In a perfect world, a young quarterback would sit. Just in a perfect world. We weren’t living in a perfect world. You would have a vet quarterback who’s winning, and you could sit a guy for two or three years and let him play, but that was not a luxury that we were afforded. I even told Shane (Steichen) that I wish, looking back, I wish we would have sat him no matter what, but we didn’t. We played him. He got hurt. Did that setback his development? Yes.”

Richardson has missed 17 out of a possible 34 games through his first two NFL seasons. His 48% completion rate and 61.6 passer rating were both the lowest in the NFL, by far.

“We knew when we took him it was going to be a roller coaster,” Ballard said. “I don’t think I did a very good job. I think I explained that it’s going to take some time. But look, I got excited too about the talent and the wild plays, but now we need the consistency down after down. But the No. 1 thing we have to figure out, and what Anthony’s got to work through, is staying healthy. Like he’s got to be able to stay healthy. That to me, is probably the biggest question right now, because now we are going on two seasons in a row where he’s dealt with injuries. So, that’s the first thing. Then No. 2, being consistent, getting consistent down after down, play after play, consistency with him.”

When searching for similar circumstances around the league, most of the best QBs developed behind a solidified starter during their rookie campaign. Three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes sat behind veteran QB Alex Smith as a rookie. Two-time NFL MVP Award winner Lamar Jackson sat the first nine games of his rookie season behind Flacco. Super Bowl LIX Champion Jalen Hurts sat the first 10 games of his rookie campaign behind Carson Wentz. Even the first overall draft pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, Jared Goff, sat behind Case Keenum until Week 10 of his rookie season. The Packers transitioned to Jordan Love after three years of backing up Aaron Rodgers, who similarly developed as a backup behind Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Farve for his first three NFL seasons.

Ballard mentioned Steichen came to the realization that Richardson was drowning under the pressure to live up to expectations. Now that the Colts signed Daniel Jones in March to compete for the starting QB position, Richardson has to prove himself and claim his role as a starter before he begins his third season. It’s fair to question whether the Colts have guided him toward a path of success or if Richardson was doomed from the start.