The Colts are tired of Anthony Richardson.

Indianapolis is benching the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft for veteran Joe Flacco following a much-scrutinized performance in Week 8 against the Texans, according to ESPN.

The Colts (4-4) are in the playoff race and clearly believe Flacco, 39, gives them the better chance to compete this year, starting with Sunday’s prime-time road game against the Vikings.

Richardson, 22, is coming off a dreadful 10-for-32 performance in a 23-20 loss to the Texans in Week 8 that included him asking out for one play because he felt “tired.”

The second-year quarterback told reporters he removed himself from the game in the third quarter while facing a third-and-goal at the Texans’ 23-yard line since he felt “tired, ain’t gonna lie.”

Richardson had run a decent amount of the previous play while being sacked.

“That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to go that next play,” Richardson said. “So, I just told (Colts head coach Shane Steichen) I needed a break right there.”

Asking out is a bad look and it’s unknown whether that influenced the decision, but Richardson certainly didn’t help himself in a sport that values toughness.

Colts captain Ryan Kelly acknowledged that Richardson set himself up to be criticized.

“We had a conversation about it, and I think he knows that’s not the standard he needs to play up to, and the rest of the team holds him, too,” Kelly said.

“I’ll kind of leave the conversation we had at that. I know he’s going to take some criticism for that, and rightfully so, that’s a tough look.”

Richardson also made this decision possible by underwhelming this season.

The former Florida star has completed just 44.4 percent of his passes while throwing four touchdown passes to seven interceptions.

While Richardson defenders will note that the tape doesn’t always tell the story, those statistics are tough to defend.

He has added 41 rushes for 252 yards and one touchdown.

The Colts have not topped 21 points in a game in which he played the majority of the snaps since Week 1 and the offense scores its season-high in points with Flacco under center.

“But also he’s out there giving it all for his team, right? It’s not always pretty at times. An offensive lull the last couple of weeks, just having a hard time getting going at times,” Kelly said. “I thought we did some good things in the game. If anybody questions how hard he plays, I don’t think that’s the case. If you watch his film, surely we didn’t move the ball effectively at times, but he’s giving it everything for his teammates. He’s young. I’m sure it’s a learning moment for him, and I’ll leave it at that.”

The Colts are hoping Flacco can have the same effect he did last season when replaced Deshaun Watson and helped the Browns reach the playoffs.

Flacco has stared two games and played the majority of the snaps in three games and the Colts went 2-1 in that stretch while he contributed seven touchdowns to one interception.

The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback had one stellar 359-yard outing against the Jaguars in a loss, while being held to less than 200 passing yards in his other two games in which he threw a pass.

The Colts enter Week 9 just one half-game behind the Chargers for the last AFC playoff spot and two games behind the division-leading Texans, although Houston owns the tiebreaker.

The overarching question of this swap is whether the Colts are ready to move on from Richardson like the Panthers seemingly have with 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young or if this is a potential attempt to inspire him.