The Indianapolis Colts are 2-5 and looking at a potential trade deadline as sellers in two weeks.
But regardless of the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline, the Colts have another key area to figure out: quarterback.
Daniel Jones is the starter being paid $88 million across this season and next, but he hasn’t looked anything like the QB who had Indy off to an 8-2 start a year ago.
Anthony Richardson is the former No. 4 overall pick with a recent misdemeanor for marijuana possession who hasn’t proven that he has a future as an NFL starter.
And then there’s Riley Leonard, the second-year quarterback out of Notre Dame (previously Duke) who started late last year after the Philip Rivers experiment didn’t pay off.
Believe it or not, there’s a case to be made for Leonard in all of this.
Riley Leonard Starting Prediction
ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote in a new article on Tuesday that he thinks Leonard will be the Colts’ starting quarterback by Week 10.
That would mean not only benching Jones but also leapfrogging Richardson.
“Who truly knows what Richardson is capable of after a one-in-a-million eye injury ended his 2025 season during pregame warmups in October?” Solak writes. “While Richardson has more NFL experience than Leonard by years, he has started only 15 games (Leonard has one), and they’re the same age (24). Leonard has the advantage of extra contract years as the Colts look for a bridge starter in 2027; he has two additional seasons of team control after this one, and Richardson is a 2027 free agent.”
That contract aspect really is the key. The Colts can gain potential future insight by playing Leonard. Unless they plan to re-sign Richardson after the season, it doesn’t really help their future cause to play him.
“I’d lean Leonard because a good Richardson season creates a weird contract decision this offseason,” Solak writes.
Still, it would also require benching Jones, which is a big call given the financial commitment.
Ben Solak on Benching Daniel Jones
Solak shares some deep analysis about the fact that the Colts aren’t calling on Jones to do much of anything, and so they’re not making the most of him — if he’s even capable of reaching a higher ceiling at this point.
“It was all quick game, with one- and three-stop drops in the hope that Jones would get the ball out quickly and avoid the Vikings‘ ferocious pressure package altogether,” Solak writes of Week 7. “Of course, Jones had a few snaps of timely delivery and pristine placement. He also tried to throw two first-half picks and actually did the deed in the fourth quarter. Point-and-shoot quarterbacking rarely works, even for veteran supercomputers such as Rivers. For Jones, a bulky body with good mobility (he still looks spry enough off the Achilles injury) whose career has been more about aggressive throws in the face of pressure… it was not a winning formula.”
Solak goes on to note that Jones is much too expensive next season to be viewed as a “bridge quarterback,” and that if Leonard can be the answer at least in the short-term, the Colts could start working on moving on from Jones’ contract before planning on what it’ll take to find a long-term QB answer.
As usual, the Colts are left searching at the most important position in sports yet again since Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement nearly a decade ago.
Colts’ Riley Leonard Might Be QB Answer Over Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson