The Colts have Anthony Richardson on injured reserve and will have Daniel Jones on injured reserve later this week. Jones will undergo season-ending surgery on his torn Achilles this week.
That leaves the Colts with rookie Riley Leonard to start Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.
But Shane Steichen said Leonard, a sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame, has a knee issue that he’s working through.
The Colts “hope” Leonard can play.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Steichen said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN.
Leonard played the final three quarters against the Jaguars on Sunday after Jones’ injury. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards and an interception.
The Colts will look to make at least one quarterback transaction this week, depending on Leonard’s availability. Brett Rypien, who is on the practice squad, could see a promotion to the active roster.
Rypien would start if Leonard can’t go.
Colts quarterback Daniel Jones will miss the season with a torn right Achilles.
Coach Shane Steichen announced on Monday that Jones will undergo season-ending surgery this week.
Jones was playing through what was reported to be a hairline fracture in his left fibula when he went down in the first quarter on Sunday with an injury to his opposite leg. Steichen would not confirm postgame that Jones had torn his right Achilles, saying only “it’s not looking good.”
Although a torn Achilles is easily diagnosed, Jones underwent an MRI on Monday to confirm the injury.
Steichen also said backup quarterback Riley Leonard is dealing with knee soreness but will “hopefully” be available for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.
If that wasn’t enough, cornerback Charvarius Ward is in concussion protocol.
With Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones out for the season after tearing an Achilles tendon on Sunday, the next question becomes whether Anthony Richardson will be able to step in.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Richardson — who suffered an orbital fracture prior to the Week 6 game against the Cardinals — has not been cleared to return. Moreover, the Colts don’t know when or if he’ll be cleared at any point in 2025.
Richardson’s injury was the result of a freak accident with an exercise band. It happened the same day that cornerback Charvarius Ward sustained a concussion during pre-game warmups.
Richardon’s status leaves rookie Riley Leonard as the starter. Brett Rypien is on the practice squad. On Sunday, the emergency option was tight end Tyler Warren.
The fourth overall pick in 2023, Richardson started four games as a rookie and 11 in 2024. The Colts signed Jones to compete with Richardson, and Jones won the job.
Richardson remains under contract through 2026. But it’s up in the air, at best, as to whether he’ll be able to play in any of the final four regular-season games or any postseason games.
With the Colts slumping from 7-1 to 8-5 and upcoming games against the Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars, and Texans, it’s looking more and more likely that there won’t be a postseason game for the Colts in 2025 — which would be their fifth straight non-playoff year.
On Sunday, the 2025 season ended for Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, with a torn Achilles tendon in his right leg. His 2026 prospects have become much more complicated. As have his team’s, at the most important position.
Jones had signed a one-year, $14 million contract with Indianapolis. He earned the Week 1 starting job, winning eight of 12 games before making an early exit on Sunday in Jacksonville.
The Colts seemingly had found a long-term answer. An end to the post-Luck revolving door of Jacoby Brissett, Brian Hoyer, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, Nick Foles, Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew, and Joe Flacco.
Now what? Jones will be rehabbing the injury in March, when it’s time for the Colts and other teams to begin getting the QB ducks in a row for 2026. Any chance at a multi-year deal have been dashed. The team’s fallback of the franchise tag won’t happen, either.
Yes, Kirk Cousins got a four-year deal with $100 million fully guaranteed two years ago, only four-plus months after suffering the same injury. But how has that worked out for the Falcons? Besides, Cousins was more consistent and accomplished before he hit free agency after six years with the Vikings.
Regardless of how it plays out, the injury changes everything for the Colts and for Jones. And tough decisions will need to be made by both the team and the player, decisions much tougher than the ones they were going to make — how many commas, how many zeroes?
Daniel Jones’ comeback season hit a snag a few weeks ago when he fractured his fibula and things got even worse for the Colts quarterback in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars.
Jones tore his Achilles as the Colts fell to 8-5 and out of the playoff picture in the AFC. They would be the sixth team since the AFL-NFL merger to miss the playoffs after starting 7-1 and they will have to try to regroup after suffering what running back Jonathan Taylor called a “gut punch” after the game.
“It’s devastating,” Taylor said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “He’s out there fighting, scratching, clawing the past few weeks, and to see him go down, you don’t know what’s going on, you hope for the best. . . . I already told him, so much respect for him, I appreciate him so much for risking his body to go out there with us.”
Other Colts players shared similar thoughts about an emotional blow will make it difficult to rally around Riley Leonard and reverse their slide in time to make it into the playoffs.
The injury is likely to have implications beyond this season. The Colts traded two first-round picks for cornerback Sauce Gardner because they felt they had a chance to make a big run this year, but now have questions about the future of their quarterback position without key assets to use to fill the spot.
That’s not the immediate concern in Indianapolis, obviously, but it casts a larger pall over the team as they try to move forward in the wake of Jones’ injury.
