Sam Ehlinger will supplant Nick Foles as the Colts’ backup quarterback to Matt Ryan on Sunday against Jacksonville, Mike Chappell of Fox 59 reports.
The Colts will have Foles among their inactives.
The move, according to Chappell, is not a threat to Ryan’s status as the starting quarterback despite Ryan leading the league with 10 turnovers. The Colts average a league-worst 13.8 points per game.
Instead, it indicates the Colts’ curiosity about Ehlinger, the team’s 2021 sixth-round draft pick.
Ehlinger has not dressed for a game this season and has never thrown a pass in the regular season. But Colts coach Frank Reich previously has mentioned Ehlinger’s “bright future.”
In the preseason, Ehlinger completed 82.8 percent of his passes for 289 yards with four touchdowns and a 147.8 passer rating. He also led the team in rushing with 71 yards on six attempts, including a 45-yard touchdown.
Foles, who signed a two-year, $6.2 million contract with $4 million guaranteed with the Colts in May, now finds himself in the same spot he was in with the Bears. He is buried on the depth chart despite being a Super Bowl MVP.