By james art 
ROB MAADDY Associated Press
Anthony Richardson had fewer starts than Bryce Young before he was benched.
The Indianapolis Colts let go of their second quarterback this week after his 10th career start, including six this season.
The Colts (4-4) are turning to Joe Flacco, 39, because coach Shane Steichen believes the veteran gives the team “the best chance to win right now.”
Flacco, the Super Bowl MVP with the Ravens more than a decade ago, is 2-1 in three appearances with the Colts. He was 4-1 with Cleveland last year, helping the Browns reach the playoffs.
Richardson, 22, threw just 393 passes in college at Florida before the Colts selected him with the fourth pick in last year’s NFL draft. Richardson has raw talent, but still needs time to develop. He has completed just 50.2 percent of his passes with more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (seven).
He became the fourth quarterback benched this season, joining Young, Gardner Minshew and Justin Fields.
Young was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. C.J. Stroud, who was drafted second overall out of Houston, is the only member of last year’s quarterback class who has blossomed. Will Levis, the 33rd pick, is 4-10 in his 14 starts for Tennessee and has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury.
Here are the teams that have made changes at quarterback and those that might:
PANTHERS: Young was benched just two starters this season by first-time coach Dave Canales. He was 2-14 in 2023 and struggled mightily to live up to expectations after winning the Heisman Trophy at Alabama.
Young returned to Carolina’s starting lineup last week because of an injury to Andy Dalton and will remain the starter. The Panthers are 1-7 and need to find out if Young has a future.
STEELERS: Fields was playing well when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin switched to Russell Wilson. He helped Pittsburgh go 4-2, but Tomlin wanted to see if Wilson could take the offense to another level. He has. Wilson posted a 111.9 passer rating while leading the Steelers to two wins. If he hesitates at any point, Fields will be ready to go if Tomlin decides to make another shift.
RAIDERS: Minshew beat out Aidan O’Connell for the starting job in training camp, but was benched after three starts. He returned when O’Connell broke his thumb. The Raiders (2-6) are 2-4 with Minshew and will likely go back to O’Connell when he’s healthy.
TITANS: Levis is expected to regain his starting job once he is cleared to play. Backup Mason Rudolph is 0-2 and the Titans (1-6) aren’t going anywhere, so they need to figure out what they have in Levis.
GIANTS: Daniel Jones hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in the past three games and is struggling after a solid four-game stretch from Weeks 2-5. The Giants (2-6) are competing for a top-5 pick in the draft, which would help them land a potential franchise QB. Backup Drew Lock isn’t the long-term answer, but New York could make a change eventually because Jones has a $23 million injury guarantee through 2025.
BROWN: Deshaun Watson’s injury forced the Browns to start Jameis Winston, a move that should have been made earlier in the season. Coach Kevin Stefanski stuck with Watson most likely because the team traded a bunch of picks for him and gave him an unprecedented five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal through 2022. The franchise has a tough decision to make when Watson returns from an Achilles injury next year . Watson was owed $46 million for each of the next two seasons, but he flopped.
SAINTS: Derek Carr missed three games and the Saints (2-6) lost all of them with rookie Spencer Rattler. Carr is expected to return this week, and New Orleans is switching to Jake Henner as the backup. If the team continues to lose, it’s possible Rattler could trade Carr to give the coaching staff a chance to evaluate him for the future.
PATRIOTS: Rookie Drake May, the No. 3 pick, got his chance to start in Week 6, replacing veteran Jacoby Brissett. May suffered a concussion last week and Brissett stepped in and led New England to a win over the Jets. Once Maye is ready, he will play. The Patriots (2-6) need him to be their franchise quarterback.
JETS: Aaron Rodgers will not be accommodated. The four-time NFL MVP finally showed what he can do for the Jets in the second half of New York’s 21-10 win over Houston. But if the Jets (3-6) can’t rack up wins and get back into the playoff race, there’s no reason for Rodgers to continue playing and risk injury if he plans to play again in 2025.