Riley Leonard didn’t enter 2025 with much expected of him. Sixth-round rookie quarterbacks usually don’t. They’re supposed to linger at the bottom of the depth chart, learn the offense, and wait their turn.
Leonard’s year in Indianapolis moved faster than that.
A Week 6 warm-up injury to backup Anthony Richardson Sr. pushed Leonard into the No. 2 role behind Daniel Jones. From there, the Colts’ quarterback situation kept spinning. Jones was leading an offense that was rolling, but in Week 14 he went down in the rain at EverBank Stadium with an Achilles injury that ended his season with four games left.
Leonard finished that game on the wet field and played well enough, though he also came away with a knee tweak. That uncertainty sent Indianapolis to 43-year-old Philip Rivers for the next three games, and all three ended in losses. With the Colts already out of the playoff picture, Leonard got the final start of the season and turned in one of the better outings the Houston Texans defense allowed all year.
“What Riley was able to do when he stepped in last year was impressive," Colts head coach Shane Steichen said this offseason. "So, we want to see continued growth with the understanding of the offense, the playmaking ability, getting completions, taking what's there, not making bad plays worse, and we'll go from there.”
That late-season work has now put Leonard in position to matter again. Jones is still working back from the Achilles injury, and Leonard has spent extra time as the top quarterback. Even so, he had to share some of those May and June reps with Richardson, who is on the trade block.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay sees that path pointing to Leonard as the “firm QB2 behind Jones.”
"In the wake of Daniel Jones' season-ending Achilles tear, Anthony Richardson's injuries and performance woes, and Philip Rivers' inability to spur the squad to victory, the Colts gave Leonard a surprise starting nod for the 2025 finale," Kay wrote.
"Leonard showed promise in that contest, completing 21 of his 34 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground," Kay continued. "That performance should help him cinch up the QB2 job this season, especially with journeyman backup Easton Stick being the Colts' lone offseason quarterback addition.
"Given the strong potential that Richardson gets traded before the campaign kicks off, Leonard is the top candidate to back Jones up."
Steichen has also been clear about what has stood out beyond the box score. Leonard’s work in the classroom and the way he carries it onto the field have made an impression.
"He’s a guy that’s studying like crazy in that classroom and taking it to the field," Steichen said. "Just the conversations that we have, things popped up today where he made some good plays - some conversations that took place and obviously came to life here on the practice field."
The Colts are set to report to Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind., on July 28 and begin practice the next day. When they do, Leonard and Richardson will be back in the same competition, with the backup job still in play.
In Other News...
Colts Just Got A Concerning Reminder About DeForest Buckner
DeForest Buckner remains one of the biggest swing factors on the Colts defense as he works his way back from the neck injury that cut into his season and required surgery. The veteran tackle is expected to be ready for Week 1, but Indianapolis still has reason to watch closely because the question is not just whether he is available, but how much of his usual impact he can bring right away.
A recent ESPN ranking of the leagues defensive tackles offered a reminder of how Buckner is being viewed outside the building, leaving him out of the top 10. The omission was tied more to age and the injury than to any real doubt about his talent, which is why the Colts will be leaning on the same belief their coaches have held all along: when Buckner is right, he still changes the front. [Read more 🡒]
These Colts Could Spark A Real Untouchable Debate
The Colts have quietly built a roster with a few names that would draw real interest if the conversation ever turned to the trade market. Charvarius Ward, Cam Bynum, Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce all sit in that tier where age, talent, contract and positional value make them easy to imagine in a different uniform, even if the team has no reason to shop them. It is the kind of exercise that says as much about how Indianapolis has assembled its depth as it does about any one player.
What makes the discussion interesting is how different those profiles are, and how much the league tends to pay for certainty at premium spots. A corner, a safety, a quarterback and a receiver each carry their own kind of appeal, which is why the estimates around them land in a fairly narrow band of meaningful picks. For the Colts, it is a reminder that some of their most useful pieces are also the ones other teams would most want to call about. [Read more 🡒]