Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was downgraded from questionable to out for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants because of back and foot injuries.
Richardson did not practice during the week, but head coach Shane Steichen had fallen short of declaring his starter out until Saturday.
Veteran Joe Flacco is expected to make his fifth start of the season in Richardson’s place.
As of early Saturday, the Colts (7-8) still have a shot at a playoff berth, but they’d need to beat the Giants (2-13) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12) in Week 18 — and for both the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers to lose their games on Saturday — to stay alive.
That Indianapolis even remained in the playoff hunt in Week 17 is surprising, given an unspectacular season from Richardson, who was taken by the Colts with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Richardson, 22, has completed just 47.7 percent of his pass attempts (126 of 264) for 1,814 yards and has thrown more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes (8). Still, he is 6-5 in 11 starts.
Richardson’s back and foot injuries are not expected to rule him out of Week 18’s matchup against the visiting Jaguars, according to ESPN sources on Saturday.
Flacco, who turns 40 next month, was 1-3 in four starts earlier this year amid both injury and ineffectiveness for Richardson. Flacco has completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,167 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
Two of the losses were to playoff-bound teams — the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills.