By 6 pm ET on Sunday, August 30 (two days earlier than normal), the Indianapolis Colts will need to trim their roster to 53 players. Before that, and possibly to help the team make its decisions, Indy will play one final preseason game.
The approach to that game appears to make clear that Indianapolis sees Anthony Richardson as QB2. He is getting the start, and he will get to play with the presumed starters for a series or two. By the time Riley Leonard enters the game, the starters will probably be gone.
Both Leonard and Richardson will likely make the team, however. As far as other players who will, our latest guesses are below.
53-man 2026 roster porojection for the Indianapolis Colts ahead of preseason Week 3
Quarterback (3)
QB1: Daniel Jones
QB2: Anthony Richardson
QB3: Riley Leonard
Jones is healthy and ready for Week 1. That is the good part. The negative is that while Richardson has been a bit better in the preseason than Leonard has been, probably giving him the edge for the QB2 spot, neither has been overly good. The bottom line is that Indy cannot afford to have Jones get injured again.
Running back (3)
Starter: Jonathan Taylor
Backups: Seth McGowan, Ulysses Bentley IV
Taylor and McGowan are locks. McGowan was a seventh-round 2026 selection who has had a great training camp and hasn't disappointed in the preseason. Bentley is more versatile than DJ Giddens, who was Taylor's RB2 for much of 2025, and Giddens likely gets released.
Wide receiver (6)
WR1: Alec Pierce
WR2 : Josh Downs
WR3: Keenan Allen
Backups: Anthony Gould, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Ashton Dulin
Two huge positives exist here. One is that the Indianapolis Colts are saying they expect Pierce to play in Week 1 (at least, that was the implication this week by head coach Shane Steichen). The other is that the team finally secured a good WR3 by signing Keenan Allen.
The question with the group is who hangs on to the bottom of the roster. Gould can do several things on special teams, and that might give him the edge over Coleman Owen, though Owen has flashed punt return ability in the preseason. Rookie Deion Burks still has a chance, too, with a great preseason Week 3.
Tight ends (4)
Starter: Tyler Warren
Backups: Mo Alie-Cox, Will Mallory, Drew Ogletree
Mallory has a hand injury, and he could miss Week 1 and possibly beyond. Overall, this group seems safe, however. Warren is probably going to be the team's most-targeted receiver this year (and maybe for years to come).
Offensive line (9)
Starters: LT Bernhard Raimann, LG Quenton Nelson, C Tanor Bortolini, RG Matt Goncalves, RT Jalen Travis
Backups: Dalton Tucker, Jimmy Morrissey, Jalen Farmer, Luke Tenuta
The starters are set, though Jalen Travis does need to perform well in his first full year as a starter. The problem comes with the backups, who haven't been good in the preseason. Morrissey might not make the team, but he can play center, and backup center is the most glaring weakness the offense has. Blake Freeland could push Morrissey off the roster.
Defensive end/edge rusher (6)
Starters: Laiatu Latu, Arden Key
Backups: Jaylahn Tuimoloau, Micheal Clemons, Caden Curry, George Gumbs Jr.
Oof. What a mess. Latu was good in 2025, and needs to be even better in 2026. Key has a low ceiling, but a high floor, so he should be fine, if not exceedingly impactful. After those two, Clemons has had a good camp, but wasn't good in his first four seasons with the New York Jets. The others have a long way to go to prove they can be good NFL players.
Defensive tackle (4)
Starters: DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart
Backups: Colby Wooden, Adetomiwa Adebawore
Wooden has had a very good camp and might be a much better fit with the Colts than he was with the Green Bay Packers. Adebawore is quite good at interior pass rush. But this unit will rise or fall based on the health of Buckner and Stewart. If they are available for most games, Indy is in good shape.
Inside linebackers (5)
Starters: CJ Allen, Akeem Davis-Gaither
Backups: Bryce Boettcher, Austin Ajiake, Jaylon Carlies
Allen has missed a lot of camp with two different injuries, causing concern for his long-term health in his rookie season. Even when he has played, he hasn't yet been elite. This is a group in flux, and the team might still mix and match in real games. That is far from ideal.
Cornerback (6)
Outside corner: Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward
Nickelback: Justin Walley
Backups: Cam Taylor-Britt, Johnathan Edwards, Jaylon Jones
Thankfully, Ward returned to practice this week after missing nearly all three weeks before. He is a veteran, though, so his lack of reps shouldn't be a problem. Overall, this should be a very good position for Indianapolis as long as it doesn't suffer the same injury issues the team had last year.
Safety (4)
Starters: Cam Bynum, AJ Haulcy
Backups: Hunter Wohler, Jonathan Owens
Owens is here because of his special teams prowess, which forces wide receiver Laquon Treadwell off the roster. Bynum is terrific and will be the green dot on defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's unit. Haulcy is an impressive rookie made better under the guidance of Bynum, and Wohler is a solid backup if either Bynum or Haulcy gets hurt.
Specialists (3)
Kicker: Blake Grupe
Punter: Rigoberto Sanchez
Long snapper: Luke Rhodes
Kick returner: Anthony Gould
Punt returner: Anthony Gould
Kicker is still unknown. Grupe should have sewn up the job weeks ago, but he has been outperformed by Spencer Shrader in the preseason. Still, except for those two games, Grupe has been more accurate and consistent in practice. Preseason Week 3 could be the deciding factor between who keeps their job with the Colts and who is looking for new employment.
Gould is the returner here, though Coleman Owen could beat him out. As with the kicker spot, preseason Week 3 could be the difference between one making the team and the other hoping to hold onto the practice squad.
Add us as a preferred source on Google