Josh Allen draws parallels with Anthony Richardson, shares blueprint for Colts QB's comeback
Josh Allen sent a message to the Indianapolis Colts' second-year quarterback, Anthony Richardson. The former No. 4 overall pick was benched in favor of Joe Flacco ahead of the Week 9 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. It's unclear when he'll be back in action, but the Buffalo Bills star offered a piece of advice to return to the field in the best way.
On Thursday's episode of "The Pat McAfee Show," Allen broke down how he learned how to handle a lot of things from one of his veterans, Derek Anderson.
"I think going back to my rookie year, bringing in a guy like Derek Anderson, who didn't win a Super Bowl, but Derek's my guy," Allen said. "Got to learn a lot from him, the way that he handled the little things, just how to handle walkthroughs, how to handle meetings, how to talk to certain guys in the building, and then when he went out and practiced, he practiced hard, and he demanded a lot from the receivers and tight ends.
"So again, just being able to learn and grow from under somebody who knew what they were doing, they were in the league for a long time, and hopefully, he can take a lot of things away from Joe."
Anthony Richardson started the season with renewed hopes after a shoulder injury cut his rookie season short. His arm was as strong as ever and his running game was sharp, but he made mistakes and committed turnovers that cost plenty of points to his team.
After he removed himself from the game against the Houston Texans, Shane Steichen decided to give the keys to the car to Joe Flacco.
Josh Allen is having a completely different season than Anthony Richardson
Josh Allen has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL for a hot minute now. The Buffalo Bills superstar is putting on an MVP-caliber season, leading the team to the top of the AFC East standings (7-2), fighting to get the No. 1 seed in the conference against the unbeaten Chiefs (8-0), Steelers (6-2) and Ravens (6-3).
Allen's tenure in the league didn't have the best start, either, as he had to learn a lot before his breakout season. He went from 2,074 and 3,089 passing yards to 4,544 in his third year. If Anthony Richardson can emulate what Allen did, the Colts would be in line to compete for important things for several years.