The Indianapolis Colts took on the Baltimore Ravens just a few days ago in their first preseason game action of 2025. In the loss, there were a few bright spots, but the holes in the roster stood out much greater. The main ugliness of the night came in the quarterback room.
When Daniel Jones was brought in this offseason, the hope was that he could both teach Anthony Richardson a few things and simultaneously compete with him. Many Colts fans hoped that the competition would light a fire under Richardson, and they hoped to see Jones only on the bench for the whole season.
Unfortunately, if their game against the Ravens was any indicator of how this season will go, the Colts may just find that the answer to their quarterback problem isn't on the roster at the moment. It's entirely possible, with Richardson's injury-prone nature and Jones' middling play, that Chris Ballard decides to pull the trigger and bring in another quarterback. So, which of the options available could be the best choice for the Colts?
Could Kirk Cousins be the answer to the Indianapolis Colts quarterback woes?
Firstly, let's get the most flashy (and probably unlikely) option out of the way. Could Kirk Cousins be the best quarterback on the Colts roster if he were brought in? The answer is probably yes, but it's far from a guarantee. There's a reason that the veteran was benched in favor of the inexperienced rookie Michael Penix last year.
From all accounts, it seems that the Falcons didn't realize how bad Cousins' Achilles injury was when they signed him, hence the drafting of the highly touted Michael Penix right after signing Cousins to a record extension. Through the first half of the season, Cousins held his own, but the wear and fatigue soon got to the 36-year-old (who was still just a year removed from an injury that used to end careers).
Long story short, Cousins got benched, and Penix showed he was the future, leaving Kirk as the odd man out in Atlanta. If the Colts were able to swing a trade for him, he'd probably be their best quarterback, or at the very least competing for the QB1 spot, but he most definitely wouldn't launch them into the stratosphere of contention
Kirk Cousins is probably the best quarterback potentially available right now, but he comes with too much baggage. For one, the Colts would have to give up valuable trade assets for him. For another, Cousins is owed an average salary of $45 million a year for the next three years.
As of now, the Colts have just over $17 million in available cap. The only way to get Cousins feasibly on the roster is to make the Falcons take on far more dead money than they're probably willing to do.
Finally, it's also simply not a guarantee that the Colts would be getting the player that Cousins used to be. This is a relatively young roster, and depending on how the season goes they could be looking to retool in a totally new direction just next year.
It doesn't make very much sense to saddle the roster with a huge contract for an aging quarterback when the roster isn't ready for Super Bowl contention. Then what if the Colts go in a different direction than Cousins?
Are there any game changing free agents?
The short answer? No. The long answer? The best option on the market right now is by far Carson Wentz. Ask any Colts fan what they think of bringing back Carson Wentz to play quarterback for their team, and the response you'd probably get is a resounding no, preceded by a long string of expletives.
Some wounds take a long time to heal, and Wentz's failure in the final week of the season to beat the lowly Jaguars and take his team to the playoffs still looms large in the organization.
Options other than Carson Wentz include players like Mike White, Jeff Driskel, and C.J. Beathard. Yes, it might make sense to bring one of them in for competition, but none of those players are really going to push Richardson and Jones to another level. Free agency could bring some nice depth to the team, but the answer to the long-term quarterback problem won't be found through that avenue.
How about any cut candidates?
There are always a few quarterback situations throughout the league that are worth monitoring. Every so often, a team will make a cut that seems shocking to the media. It happened just a few weeks ago when the Raiders cut Christian Wilkins out of the blue (though in that situation, a lot of previously unknown factors played a part).
So, what quarterback rooms are worth monitoring as the preseason goes on? Well, let's first look at the very team that cut Wilkins. The team's starter for part of last year, it seems some of the Raiders' hype train for Aidan O'Connell has died down. The team traded for Geno Smith over the offseason to solidify the QB1 spot, and recently, they played their first preseason game.
In that game, O'Connell performed very poorly, going 18 for 30 for 205 yards, with a touchdown but two interceptions. Additionally, young rookie Cam Miller looked very promising in his limited game action, going six for seven on 76 yards and a touchdown, with the bulk of those yards coming on a long 41 yard completion.
Obviously, it's a one game sample size, and things could change going forward, but if this trend continues, O'Connell could soon find himself on the market. If this were to happen, the Colts should swoop in and sign a quality quarterback option for cheap.
It's also entirely possible that a surprise candidate will be cut before the start of the season. There are always things that are kept within the organization that make certain seemingly mind-boggling moves make sense (like the Christian WIlkins situation), and while the Colts shouldn't bank on it, it's definitely possible.
The Indianapolis Colts don't need to make any moves necessarily, but if one does pop up, they should jump on the chance.