With Anthony Richardson Sr. Hurt, Colts Exploring Quarterback Market
INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts are exploring the need to add a quarterback.
Who that quarterback is and what exactly the role will be for that guy remains to be seen though.
A freak eye orbital fracture to Anthony Richardson Sr. has the Colts looking for a quarterback with Week 7 here.
On Monday, Shane Steichen confirmed that Richardson will indeed miss some game action.
“He will miss some time for sure,” the head coach said of his backup quarterback. “I don’t have a timetable on, it but he will definitely miss some time.”
Following Steichen’s press conference, the Colts placed Richardson Sr. on injured reserve. That means he will miss at least 4 games (5 weeks, including the bye): at Chargers; Titans, at Steelers, Falcons. The Colts have their bye following the Falcons game in Germany.
Even if the Colts feel rookie Riley Leonard is ready for backup duties for a month, the Colts need a third quarterback, with no other signal caller on the roster/practice squad.
“Chris (Ballard) and his staff are working through some things,” Steichen said. “We will work through some things in the next 24 hours.”
Daniel Jones has been healthy for every meaningful snap through the first 6 weeks of the season. But his injury history would indicate the Colts are likely to have to rely on another quarterback at some point in 2025.
On Sunday, Leonard was thrust into the backup role after the pre-game injury to Richardson. Leonard, a 6th round pick out of Notre Dame, has been the team’s 3rd quarterback (only allowed to play in emergency situations) for every game this season.
Are the Colts comfortable with Leonard being their new backup? Comfortable for Leonard one play away for a month?
In the preseason, Leaonard was 34-of-56 (60.7 percent) for 345 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Leonard did have 7 carries for 58 yards.
That’s part of the debate for the Colts as they spend the next 24 hours debating what type of quarterback they should add to their roster/practice squad.
If the Colts aren’t fans of what the free agent pool of quarterbacks looks like (see list below), they could trade a draft pick for a reserve QB.
Of course, they already traded a 2026 6th round pick for cornerback Mekhi Blackmon. Another trade of a Day 3 pick, for example, might limit the resources available for another trade this month. Would the Colts really want to part ways with 3 separate draft picks for 2026 (one for Blackmon, one for a quarterback and possibly one for a defensive addition)? That would be very anti-Chris Ballard.
See below for some possible QB names out there:
Some Free Agent Quarterbacks + Quarterbacks On Other Practice Squads
-Jason Bean (0 career starts): Bean has been with the Colts for each of the last two years, and was cut as the 4th quarterback in August. Bean went 14-of-24 for 144 yards this preseason, getting snaps behind Riley Leonard.
-CJ Beathard (13 career starts): Beathard has a Colts connection, spending the 2022 season with offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter in Jacksonville. He would need to be signed off the Lions practice squad.
-Tim Boyle (5 career starts): The 31-year-old Boyle has played for 6 teams, including getting game action against the Colts last season as a member of the Dolphins.
-Jeff Driskel (12 career starts): Used to moving around, Driskel has played for 6 teams since being a 6th round pick in 2016.
-Taylor Heinicke (29 career starts): The Colts have seen Heinicke start (and win) against them in both Washington and Atlanta. Also, Shane Steichen is familiar with Henicke as he started 24 games in the NFC East when Steichen was at Philly.
-Desmond Ridder (18 career starts): Waived by the Vikings earlier this month, Ridder did have a mini-camp tryout with the Colts back in June. Ridder is a former third-round pick out of Cincinnati.
-Brett Rypien (4 career starts): Rypien was with Cincinnati earlier this year. He has some of the least amount of playing time of anyone on this list.
-Easton Stick (4 career starts): Like Beathard, Stick would have to be signed off a practice squad as he’s with the Flacons right now. But he did overlap with Steichen, as both were with the Chargers from 2019-20. Stick was a 5th round pick of the Chargers, when Steichen was the offensive coordinator.
-Nate Sudfeld (0 career starts): A former IU quarterback, Sudfeld just missed overlapping in Philadelphia with Steichen. He has played in 6 gams but has yet to start a contest.
-Kyle Trask (0 career starts): The highest draft pick on this list, Trask didn’t crack the lineup in his 3 years with the Buccaneers.
