The Indianapolis Colts hope to have their quarterback of the future. Giving Daniel Jones nearly $90 million over two years was a huge vote of confidence, especially for a player coming off a season-ending injury and with a history of ailments.
However, that doesn't mean they're settled at the position. If anything, they found out the hard way how much a promising season can be derailed by an injury, and they might not feel too good about either of their potential backups.
That's why, with roster cut day looming large and the Los Angeles Rams likely choosing Ty Simpson over Stetson Bennett, the Colts have plenty of reasons to target the former national champion if he becomes available.
The Indianapolis Colts should keep an eye on Stetson Bennett
The Rams have always been high on Bennett, but after watching them use a first-round pick on Simpson and given how good he's looked in the preseason, there's just no way he won't make the roster.
Head coach Sean McVay hinted at keeping all three of them on the roster, but that might not be smart asset management. They need to give Simpson as many second-team reps as possible to prepare him to be Matthew Stafford's heir, and Bennett is entering the final year of his contract. With Simpson there, there's no incentive to re-sign the Georgia product.
Bennett played in a similar offense in college. With Todd Monken's vertical passing and RPO-heavy offense, he went on to have an outstanding career with the Bulldogs, so he should be familiar with some of Steichen's concepts.
Neither Anthony Richardson nor Riley Leonard has done much with their opportunities through training camp and the preseason. As things stand now, Leonard might only win the QB2 job because of Richardson's trade request and the fact that the team seems to be as done with him as he is with them.
Even if Bennett doesn't become available, the Colts have every reason to explore the free agent quarterback market after roster-cut day. Other options, like Tyrod Taylor, Kyle McCord, Mason Rudolph, or Jake Browning, could all be an upgrade for this team.
While that says more about the current state of the Colts' quarterback room than about any of the guys who may not make another team's 53-man roster, the fact is that this team can't feel confident about its current options.
Daniel Jones has reportedly looked sharper than ever in training camp, and he's shown no signs of setbacks after an impressively speedy recovery. But with a history of neck injuries and after watching how things went down last season, this team definitely needs a Plan B.
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