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#61
05-20-2026, 12:09 PM
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The Colts’ Looming Position Battles: Will Riley Leonard or Anthony Richardson Be the Backup QB ??? (By James Boyd) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...ny-richardson/ The Indianapolis Colts begin OTA's next week, so now is a good time to dive into some of the team’s looming position battles. The Colts made several roster changes this offseason, with six starters from last year finding new homes elsewhere, thus opening the door for others to fill the void. Here are my top five position battles to keep an eye on. Back-Up Quarterback Daniel Jones, who is rehabbing from a torn right Achilles tendon he suffered in December, was solidified as the Colts’ unquestioned QB1 when he signed a two-year, $88 Million contract with the team in March. Colts coach Shane Steichen and GM Chris Ballard have noted Jones’ recovery is going well. Still, they both stopped short of fully committing to Jones’ being available for the opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 13th. If Jones isn’t ready, the Colts will turn to Riley Leonard or Anthony Richardson, the latter of whom has requested a trade. Since last season ended, the Colts have praised Leonard, a 2025 6th-round pick, for his progress and indicated he’s on track to be Jones’ backup. But that was before Richardson, who requested a trade in February, rejoined the team for spring practice earlier this month. The Colts haven’t said much about what Richardson’s role will be if he spends the 2026 season in Indy, but if he isn’t traded, it’s worth discussing whether Richardson or Leonard gives the Colts the best chance to win if Jones is sidelined. Richardson, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, has thrown 11 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions in the NFL. He’s also rushed for 10 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Leonard threw two TD passes and three picks during his rookie season. He also had two rushing TD's. OTA's could provide a tangible update on Jones, whom the Colts did not rule out of participating. They could also give us a glimpse of how the team plans to divide the reps between Leonard and Richardson. Other Defensive End Laiatu Latu is the only proven starting defensive end on the Colts’ roster. The 2024 first-round pick notched 8.5 sacks and 3 INT's last season. He’ll need to record, at minimum, double-digit sacks in 2026 to justify how high he was selected. Indy’s other starting defensive end from last year, Kwity Paye, joined the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. Ballard said the Colts tried to sign four-time Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson, who played under Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo in Cincinnati, but they swung and missed. Hendrickson signed with the Ravens, so the Colts will face him in Week 1 in Indianapolis. The Colts appear content to use a defensive-end-by-committee approach opposite Latu. Still, the other starting job is likely to be claimed by veteran free-agent signee Arden Key or 2025 second-round pick Jaylahn Tuimoloau. Key has started 46 games through his first eight NFL seasons and has 30 1/2 sacks. He is the most accomplished defensive end the Colts added this offseason. Tuimoloau, on the other hand, logged zero starts and zero sacks as a rookie, though Anarumo and company have hinted he could take a big leap in Year 2. 3rd Wide Receiver The Colts traded veteran Michael Pittman Jr., who led the team in receptions in four of the last five years, to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March. His absence will push newly paid Alec Pierce, who signed a four-year, $114 Million deal with the Colts shortly before Pittman’s departure, up the depth chart. Josh Downs will also see an increased role. The competition for the third starting receiver spot could go in a few directions. Ashton Dulin offers the most familiarity, as he’s entering his fourth season in Steichen’s offense, but he also plays a huge role on special teams as one of the best gunners in the NFL. Free-agent signee Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is another veteran option. He had a down season with the Miami Dolphins last year, totaling just 11 catches for 89 yards, but he caught nine touchdowns with the Tennessee Titans in 2024 and has 19 receiving TDs in his career. The Colts could also turn to rookie Deion Burks. The seventh-round pick out of Oklahoma has blazing speed, evidenced by his 4.30-second 40-yard dash. Burks, who stands 5 feet 10 and weighs 180 pounds, also displayed impressive run-after-the-catch ability in college thanks to his deceptively strong frame. Kicker Colts special teams coordinator Brian Mason believes his team has two starting kickers on its roster: Spencer Shrader and Blake Grupe. Last year, Shrader was emerging as one of the best kickers in the NFL, drilling 13 of his 14 FG attempts and all 14 of his XP's before he suffered a season-ending right knee injury against the Raiders. The Colts first pivoted to Michael Badgley, who previously played for the team, but cut him after he missed three extra points. Indy then signed Grupe, who had been cut by the New Orleans Saints after missing eight field goal attempts in 11 games. The diminutive kicker, who is 5' 7" and 157 pounds, redeemed himself in Indianapolis by making all 11 of his FG attempts and all 10 of his XP's. Grupe could have signed elsewhere this offseason, but he decided to return to Indianapolis on a one-year deal to compete with Shrader for the starting job. Whoever loses, Mason said, should have plenty of suitors. Back-Up Running Back Jonathan Taylor is coming off his third Pro Bowl campaign and fourth 1,000-yard rushing season. The Colts star played a career-high 82 percent of the team’s offensive snaps last year, so the backup running back role was hardly mentioned. But there were some changes this offseason, with last year’s reserves, Ameer Abdullah and Tyler Goodson, joining the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons in free agency. Unless the Colts sign a veteran in free agency, they’ll rely on 2025 fifth-round pick DJ Giddens or 2026 seventh-round pick Seth McGowan to serve as Taylor’s backup. Giddens, a former Kansas State star, totaled just 26 carries for 96 yards as a rookie. McGowan, meanwhile, recorded 165 carries for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns at Kentucky last season. o
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BALTIMORE COLTS ))))))))))))))))))) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Bert Jones, Johnny Unitas, Earl Morrall ))))))))).lll) Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck 
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#62
09-03-2026, 03:28 PM
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o
The Colts Name Anthony Richardson as the Top Backup (QB-2) Behind Starter Daniel Jones (By James Boyd) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/756...riley-leonard/ INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen announced on Thursday that Anthony Richardson will be the team’s top back-up quarterback. Richardson, the Colts’ 1st-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, competed with 2025 6th-round pick Riley Leonard throughout training camp to serve as QB-2 behind starter Daniel Jones. Early on, it seemed as if Leonard had the edge in the competition, but Richardson’s superior play in the pre-season seems to have won him the job. “I was honored,” Richardson said of being told that he had been named the Colts’ top back-up. “I’m just thankful that they believe in me enough to promote me to QB-2. I’m just ready to work, willing to work for this team and provide my best self for this squad.” Richardson completed 21 of 33 passes for 249 yards with 0 TD's and 1 INT in 3 pre-season games. He also had 10 carries for 68 yards and a TD, and lost one fumble while running. Leonard, meanwhile, completed 20 of 42 passes for 199 yards, 0 TD's and 1 INT's. He added 6 carries for 17 yards and fumbled 2 snaps, though neither was lost. Richardson winning the top back-up job for the Colts is the latest turn of what has been a roller-coaster career for him with Indianapolis. Just in the past year or so alone, Richardson lost his starting job to Jones, then nearly lost an eye after breaking his orbital bone in a freak, pre-game accident last season. Then, to start the off-season, Richardson formally requested a trade. The 24-year-old was seemingly looking for a fresh start in a new NFL city. However, no trade materialized, with GM Chris Ballard saying in late July that Indianapolis was not going to “give him away.” Richardson’s trade request has remained intact throughout training camp and the pre-season, but assistant GM Ed Dodds strongly hinted in mid-August that the Colts were intending to keep Richardson. “I think that you take care of your own team first,” Dodds said. “We want to have 3 quarterbacks who can play. So, if Richardson is one of them, he’s going to be here.” A few weeks later, Ballard said that he fully expected Richardson to remain with the team this year. “I’ve been pretty consistent with Anthony,” Ballard said on Monday, 3 days before Steichen named Richardson the top back-up. “We forget how young he is sometimes. We're really proud of his growth ...… there were 2 times in camp that I said, ‘OK, he’s starting to really show some poise.’ The 2-minute against New England ...... remember, we’re backed up. I think that there were 38 seconds left on the clock, and he gets us into field-goal range to give us a chance to get points. And then during the Atlanta scrimmage, he had a tremendous 2-minute drill also, so it’s been fun to watch Anthony’s growth.” In other Colts news, the team announced 5 team captains ...... Jones, left guard Quenton Nelson, running back Jonathan Taylor, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and safety Cam Bynum. Jones has been a captain 8 times in his career, including last year with the Colts. Buckner is also an 8-time captain, including the past 6 consecutive seasons with Indianapolis. Nelson, too, has been a captain for 6 consecutive seasons in Indianapolis. Meanwhile, Taylor will be a Colts captain for the 3rd time in his career, and Bynum will be a captain for the first time. o
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BALTIMORE COLTS ))))))))))))))))))) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Bert Jones, Johnny Unitas, Earl Morrall ))))))))).lll) Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck
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#63
09-03-2026, 06:13 PM
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Good for AR
Stay ready young fella
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ChoppedWood (09-03-2026), Racehorse (09-04-2026) | ||
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#64
09-03-2026, 09:58 PM
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That’s the right call. It’s not that I think AR has suddenly turned a corner, it’s more that Leonard has looked like total dog shit.
It’s like he completely forgot how to play football.
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#65
09-03-2026, 10:04 PM
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AR looked slightly better playing with better players around him I wonder how Jones would’ve looked with the cast these guys had to work with All this lets me know is Jonathan Taylor is the key to all of this, and I still believe we have 3 solid QBs that can win games with that Oline ,JT, Warren, and Pierce
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#66
09-04-2026, 12:02 PM
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Keep your political crap out of a football forum! Nobody here gives a rat's a**
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#67
09-04-2026, 12:15 PM
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Leonard appeared to be the clear favorite to win the number 2 going into the year. He is exactly the kind of QB that Steichen wants and loves. He and DJ are best buddies, he was in DJ's wedding for goodness sake. That AR won this competition is a big deal to me. If i am not mistaken it is the first thing i am aware of that he actually competed for and wasn't just given since he got here. The guy seems to have a great attitude, doesn't appear to be any problem in the locker room or cause any issue off the field (model citizen so far) He is finally in a good position as a back up, has clearly made advances in his short game. I'm rooting for the dude big time.
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#68
09-04-2026, 01:23 PM
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Oldcolt (09-04-2026) | ||
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#69
09-04-2026, 04:26 PM
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