Riley Leonard To Start Colts Regular Season Finale
- Rookie QB Riley Leonard to make first NFL start against Texans.
- Colts QB Anthony Richardson dealing with vision limitations, future uncertain.
- Colts have 4 QBs in their building, Henigan may be backup to Leonard.
INDIANAPOLIS – The second iteration of the Philip Rivers starting era has come to an end.
Rookie Riley Leonard will start the Colts season finale in Houston on Sunday afternoon, according to a report from ESPN.
This will be Leonard’s first career NFL start. His only other extensive action came back on December 7th, when Leonard filled in for an injured Daniel Jones in the first half. Leonard went 18-of-29 for 145 yards and an interception in that game, running for a touchdown in the 4th quarter.
Leanard’s first start will offer quite the opponent, facing the league’s top-ranked scoring defense still playing for a chance to win the AFC South (Texans need a win and a Jaguars loss to the Titans).
While this is a less than ideal situation for Leonard, it could be beneficial as you peek ahead to 2026.
Depending on the Achilles recovery to Jones, it’s quite possible the Colts need a quarterback in September.
Could that be Leonard?
Some curious about why Anthony Richardson Sr. isn’t more of a possibility. Currently, Richardson is dealing with some vision limitations, making it difficult to insert him back into an actual game setting, taking hits for the first time since the 2025 preseason. Shane Steichen stressed on Monday that protecting an impaired Richardson is something the Colts have to consider.
Long term, while Richardson is still under contract for the 2025 season, there are definite questions about if he will even be with the Colts past this year.
The Colts have benched Richardson twice. And the Richardson camp has expressed some displeasure with how things have been handled with the young quarterback. Is it time for both parties to agree this marriage could use a fresh start?
With Brett Rypien having been claimed last week by the Vikings, the Colts are now back to having 4 quarterbacks in their building.
That’s Rivers and Leonard on the 53-man roster. Henigan on the practice squad, and Richardson Sr. still on injured reserve entering the third and final week of him in his 21-day practice window.
Henigan, a 2025 undrafted free agent out of Memphis, was the only other QB the Colts worked out earlier in December following the torn Achilles by Daniel Jones. The Colts didn’t sign Henigan though.
Would the Colts then opt for Henigan to be the backup to Leonard on Sunday? Or will Rivers still be involved in a reserve role?
The Colts (8-8) will play the Texans (11-5) on Sunday at 1:00 PM to close out the 2025 regular season.
