The Indianapolis Colts are approaching their quarterback battle unusually in 2025. Many teams might be hush-hush about who is leading to become QB1, but Indy appears to be embarrassingly transparent. The truth is, the team doesn't know if the Week 1 starter will be Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones.
But what about QB3? Normally, that spot doesn't matter much. Most teams have an established starter and a pretty safe backup. Many teams only carry two quarterbacks and keep a third on the practice squad. The Colts are almost certainly going to have three quarterbacks, but only because Richardson and Jones aren't good bets to succeed.
Riley Leonard has mostly been inaccurate in training camp, but he has shown flashes of being fine in recent practices. He is still a work in progress, but Indy is not likely to let him go because he will probably be picked up by another team on waivers.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jason Bean seemingly has no chance at the roster
Plus...who knows? Maybe Leonard turns out to be as good as Jones and Richardson. None of the three QBs has proven much of anything in the NFL yet.
One quarterback who appears doomed as far as a roster spot, though, is QB4 Jason Bean. Bean went undrafted out of college in 2024, but the Colts signed him as a UDFA. Bean then spent 2024 on the Indy practice squad. In fact, Indianapolis has signed, waived, signed Bean again, and then had the quarterback on practice squad IR.
The key is that no other team has shown much interest in Bean, as no one took a chance on signing him after the Colts had released him multiple times. Maybe Jason Bean lands on the practice squad yet again, but why? The team clearly has no real faith in him, and there is no way he should ever get starter reps in a real game.
It makes more sense, if Indy is going to sign a quarterback to the practice squad, to see who is available after final roster cuts are made. And that's assuming that Indianapolis keeps Richardson, Jones, and Leonard on the roster. Bean might end up being a great coach, but he isn't going to be a great quarterback.
That said, the Indianapolis Colts still need Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones to be good. Richardson is more splashy, and Jones is more efficient. Hopefully, one of them will have a great season.