One cannot stop Easton Stick; one must only hope to contain him. That must be what the Indianapolis Colts are thinking by signing the well-traveled veteran while at the same time releasing last season's Week 18 QB2, Seth Henigan. The question is, why sign Easton at all?
Maybe the team is simply desperate to have a quarterback on the roster squad, though if a team is carrying three quarterbacks, which Indy would likely be expected to do if it keeps Anthony Richardson, a practice squad QB is not a must.
The only time an issue might occur is exactly what happened in 2025 when the Colts lost Richardson in Week 6 warmups to a broken orbital bone, and Daniel Jones to a torn Achilles tendon in Week 14. That left the team with Riley Leonard and the aforementioned Henigan.
Indianapolis Colts sign Easton Stick, but what does it mean?
The same kind of injuries happening once again in 2026 is unlikely (though, to be fair, with Richardson, anything can happen). So what does Stick bring to the Indianapolis Colts that Seth Henigan doesn't? The answer is pretty much everything.
Stick has even started in the NFL. He did so in four games for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 and wasn't awful, but his team didn't win a game when he was QB1. He tossed three touchdown passes, just one interception in 174 passes, and ran for another TD. He couldn't lift his team to victories, but he wasn't the reason the Chargers lost, either.
So why would Stick choose to sign with the Colts if he was likely going to be nothing more than QB4? He would be destined to stick on the practice squad, just as he did for much of last season when he was with the Atlanta Falcons. Maybe no other team wanted to take a chance on him.
He would be a fine QB3, but there is no spot for him to do that on the current Colts teams. Jones hopes to return from his injury by Week 1. Even if he doesn't, Leonard, who was quite good in Week 18 last season, starting against the Houston Texans, or Richardson would start. The other would be the backup.
Maybe Easton Stick's signing with Indianapolis means the team truly doesn't plan on having Richardson around by the start of next season. He could be traded, but is unlikely to be released. If that occurs, Stick becomes QB3, making the addition of him make more sense.
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