The Indianapolis Colts are leaving open the answer to who might start for the team at quarterback in Week 18 against the Houston Texans. The game is meaningless, just as Week 17 turned out to be, but it still might allow some Indy players to get some valuable playing time at the end of the year.
That includes rookie Riley Leonard. He played only the final snap in Week 17, attempting a Hail Mary on the final play as starter Philip Rivers didn't have the arm strength to pull off the play. Why Leonard didn't play more in the game is a mystery, as it didn't matter whether the Colts won or lost.
Indianapolis made another interesting move ahead of Week 18 as the team signed quarterback Seth Henigan to the practice squad. The Colts did not currently have a QB on the squad after Brett Rypien joined the Minnesota Vikings late in the season. Henigan, though, hasn't been anywhere since he spent a little time with the Jacksonville Jaguars early in the season.
Indianapolis Colts sign quarterback Seth Henigan to the practice squad
The 6'3" and 215-pound quarterback went undrafted out of Memphis this past offseason and signed with the Jaguars. After being on the Jacksonville practice squad to start the season, he was released on September 29 and hasn't been with any team since.
In other words, there is literally zero expectation that he is going to play for the Colts soon, if ever. Indianapolis might simply have wanted to take a look at the productive college quarterback who has questionable speed, hand size, and accuracy. The question, though, is, why now?
Why not sign Henigan ahead of Week 17 after Rypien left? The team only has two healthy quarterbacks, Leonard and Rivers, so keeping a QB on the practice squad might have made sense anyway.
The team also has no real reason to keep Henigan around long. He isn't signed in 2026, and the Indianapolis Colts will have Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard back for next season, and likely hope to re-sign Daniel Jones. That would make three quarterbacks, and Indy doesn't need a fourth.
Or maybe general manager Chris Ballard thinks Henigan could perhaps sit and learn head coach Shane Steichen's system and would be a good player to keep around for practices. Perhaps, Indy has no strong desire to bring Jones back, after all, and the depth chart would be Richardson, then Leonard, then Henigan. Anything is possible, if not probable.