Colts Notebook: Riley Leonard Promoted To Backup Quarterback
INDIANAPOLIS – Another marquee trip to Los Angeles awaits the Colts this Sunday.
The Colts (5-1) and Chargers (4-2) face off in Week 7 at 4:05 PM.
What did we learn from the Colts first practice of the week?
-The plan on Wednesday for Kenny Moore II (Achilles) was for him get back to practice, first in individual drills. Is a week of work enough for Moore II to return for game action? He’s missed 9 straight practices and last played in a game on 9/21. On the cornerback front, Charvarius Ward didn’t practice on Wednesday and remains in concussion protocol, with his second concussion of the season. And cornerback Jaylon Jones (hamstring) still remains on injured reserve. Speaking of IR, linebacker Jaylon Carlies (ankle) remains out.
-It’ll be rookie Riley Leonard as the backup quarterback to Daniel Jones in Week 7. “I love Riley,” Steichen said on Wednesday. “I think he’s come in with the right mindset from Day 1. He prepares. It’s a hell of an opportunity for him this week.” While Leonard is the backup for Sunday, Steichen didn’t commit to that being the plan throughout Richardson’s stay on injured reserve (Richardson must miss at least 4 games). We will see as newcomer Brett Rypien gets up to speed playbook wise, how the Colts decide to handle Leonard/Rypien in those QB2/QB3 slots.
-Travel issues kept Brett Rypien from getting to the Colts complex in time for Wednesday’s first practice of the week. He arrived later on Wednesday and officially signed to the practice squad. “He was just a guy we had on our radar,” Steichen said of Rypien, who was not part of the team’s 4-quarterback workout on Tuesday. “We heard a lot of great things about him. Obviously, he was in Minnesota there for a little bit with Daniel (Jones). Daniel has a lot of great things to say about him, his preparation, his work. Obviously, played some good ball with Denver…Excited to get him in here and learning the system.”
Dne–Assuming a second concussion this season keeps Mooney Ward sidelined on Sunday, the Colts cornerback depth will once again be tested, and that’s not even factoring in a potential return of Kenny Moore II (has missed 3 straight games due to an Achilles injury). The Chargers have one of the most balanced wideout groups in the entire NFL. They are the only team in the NFL with 3 receivers having at least 300 yards receiving this season. So the Colts shotty cornerback depth is likely to get quite a test on Sunday. Curious a full week of practice will go for the younger/inexperienced corners compared to the sudden change that occurred with Ward’s concussion on Sunday morning.
-Speaking of concussion protocol, Josh Downs is also in it. Downs didn’t practice on Wednesday due to a concussion. The young wideout took a couple big hits late in Sunday’s win and expressed a bit of wooziness following the game when those hits initially occurred. His status is now very much up in the air for Sunday against the Chargers.
-Anthony Richardson Sr. (orbital fracture) was in the Colts building on Monday and again on Wednesday as the team tries to keep him engaged around his need to heal. With Richardson on injured reserve, the Colts will need a backup for at least 4 games, and potentially more. “I don’t have an exact timetable on it,” Steichen said of Richardson’s return. “He’ll be in and out (of the building) getting (medical) checkups, he will still be engaged be in (team) meetings, but obviously he’ll have some medical attention.”
–Not often you have two head coaches with such direct ties to their opponents. Jim Harbaugh, of course, is in the Colts Ring of Honor after playing for the franchise from 1994-97. Shane Steichen spent 9 of his first 10 years in the NFL with the Chargers, rising to offensive coordinator before departing for Philadelphia.
-The Chargers have a winning head coach, a great quarterback and an elite kicker. But they aren’t a team without warts. Most of it is health related as they beat the Dolphins this past Sunday, despite being down their top 4 offensive tackles. The two main issues for the Chargers—protecting Justin Herbert and stopping the opponent’s run game. Can the Colts defensive line start to live up the rich investments across that group? Will Jonathan Taylor feast upon one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL? For the Colts to get this Week 7 win, these two storylines will be vital.
-For me, so much of Sunday is about the Colts defensive line creating consistent pressure. You have one of the most highly paid D-lines in all of football with 3 first-round picks, 2 second-round picks, 2 third-round picks and 2 fourth-round picks among their 9-man group. They need to play like the elite unit they have put into it resource-wise.
-Hey, how about Nyheim Hines getting another NFL look! Great to see for the former Colts running back playing in the NFL again, as he sparked the Chargers with a late kick return in their win over the Dolphins. Hines suffered a knee injury in a jet ski accident back in 2023 that kept him away from football the last two years. The Chargers had Hines on their 90-man roster this camp and then brought him back earlier this month after several injuries at running back. Hines, a 4th round pick of the Colts, played 72 games for the Colts, racking up 1,205 rushing yards and 1,725 receiving yads in his time in Indy (2018-22).
-The Colts and the Steelers are the lone AFC teams with 1 loss through 6 weeks (and those two teams meet in Pittsburgh on November 2nd). It’s a crowded AFC after the Colts with 5 teams at 4-2, and then the Chiefs at 3-3. One thing that is about to change for the Colts, 8 of their 11 final opponents are at .500 or better (Houston-2 and Tennessee-1 are the only ones not at .500 or better) . That’s different than 4 of the 6 opponents played so far being under .500.
