The Indianapolis Colts have been keeping a secret in plain sight, it appears. Who was likely to back up Daniel Jones entering the 2026 season was probably always going to be Anthony Richardson. The team's plan for the final preseason game exposes the truth.
Richardson got the first-team reps to begin minicamp, and Riley Leonard followed him. In training camp, it was Richardson who got more first-team opportunities when a newly healthy Jones wasn't getting them, and Leonard also followed Richardson in the rotation.
Entering preseason Week 3 against the Detroit Lions, head coach Shane Steichen will start Richardson, telling the media that he was simply following the pattern that was already set. Richardson started preseason Week 1, and Leonard started preseason Week 2, but even that meant Richardson would get one more preseason start than Leonard. The math was simple.
Indianapolis Colts are giving Anthony Richardson every advantage entering preseason Week 3
But the clear advantage for Richardson going into the Lions game is that, for the first time in all three games, Indianapolis will play a lot of its starters, and only Jones and Jonathan Taylor will definitely not play. The starters, though, will only play one or two series, or "8-12 plays," according to the coach, as tweeted by The Athletic's James Boyd.
With the plan being that Richardson plays the first quarter and Leonard plays the second quarter (QB4 Easton Stick appears set to play the entire second half), the limited number of reps for the starters implies that they won't be participating once Leonard is in the game.
In other words, Anthony Richardson will get the reps with the first-team offense, and Leonard will be back to playing with presumed backups. The team couldn't make it any clearer who they want as QB2, and that is obviously Richardson.
To be fair, Richardson has had the better camp and preseason overall than Leonard, though Leonard has also played more with backups of backups than the second-team offense. Neither has been particularly good, however.
Richardson had two turnovers in the first preseason game in the first half, and while the interception he was credited with wasn't truly his fault, he also tossed another pass late in the half that should have been intercepted.
Neither quarterback has been particularly accurate, but Richardson has been more dangerous as a runner, which is to be expected. In the final meaningless game, Richardson has the opportunity to take one of the few things that matter: cementing his place as QB2.
He hasn't rescinded his trade request, has only a year left on his current Indianapolis Colts contract (while Riley Leonard has three), but that doesn't mean much. The team trusts Richardson more, even if they aren't coming straight out and saying it. Head coach Shane Steichen has been telling fans that by his decisions on how he rotated quarterbacks beginning in minicamp.
Likely the only way Richardson isn't QB2 in Week 1 of the regular season is if he suffers another injury. The hope, though, is that neither Richardson nor Leonard has to be forced into action to play a meaningful down all year. Daniel Jones needs to stay healthy for the team to have a chance at the playoffs.
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