Indianapolis Colts Make Decision on Starting Quarterback

Well, it was fun while it lasted. The Indianapolis Colts tried to salvage their 2025 season when quarterback Daniel Jones went down for the year by signing veteran Philip Rivers.

Rivers was okay, but it was too little too late. The Colts are now 8-8 after losing all three of their games with Rivers at the helm. It wasn’t all is fault for sure, but they tried to put a grandfather band-aid on the situation and they are no worse off than they would have been (most likely).

But, all good things must come to an end. According to Stephen Holder and Jeremy Fowler, sources say the Colts will end the Rivers experiment and start rookie quarterback Riley Leonard in his place this weekend against the Houston Texans.

Unless Leonard gets hurt (and/or Rivers is deactivated), the Rivers curtain call is over.

Starting Riley Leonard is smart move for Indianapolis Colts

The Colts have now found themselves in an interesting predicament. In August, there was a ton of warranted skepticism about the team’s quarterback situation and the team overall. Jones was a one-year free agent signing who they hoped could come in and play competently should former first-round pick Anthony Richardson not perform well.

Richardson didn’t and Jones did.

Before tearing his Achilles, Jones completed 68% of his passes for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions for a 100.2 passer rating. He stumbled a bit before getting injured, but at one point the Colts were the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the surprise darling of the NFL. Hooray!

Welp, Jones got hurt, they signed a 44-year old who hadn’t played in five years, lost three in a row and now the idea of the playoffs is nothing than a figment of their imaginations. Happens.

So, now what? This was a make-or-break season for head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard. At the midway point, they looked like they were going to get contract extensions after coaching and general managing for their lives in the offseason. Now, they might be back to square-July, when there were more ifs than a bag of four-day old Chinese food in the refrigerator.

At this point, they have to start Leonard. They need to see if he can show them something – anything – that might alter their thinking at the position heading into 2026. They are in a bad spot with a draft bust on the roster that no one wants anything to do with, a free agent former bust coming off of a major injury and a sixth-round rookie out of Notre Dame who will have one NFL start after this weekend.

Have fun, Colts!

Rivers says he had a great ride with the Indianapolis Colts

It didn’t work out, but Rivers said even before this week’s quarterback decision was made that he enjoyed the ride and has no regrets.

“If this was the last one, shoot, I told you guys I wouldn’t have any regrets about coming back,” Rivers said. “And I don’t.

“Other than us not winning, it’s been an absolute blast for three weeks. If I go back and say, ‘All right, you know everything that’s gonna happen, what are you gonna do?’ I’d do it all again. It’s been absolutely awesome.

“If it’s the last one, it’s the last one. I thought the last one was walking off the field in Buffalo, walking up that tunnel. And I was fine with that. That one, I had tears those few days after it. And I was at peace with that being the last one. So certainly if it is, I got three bonus games that I never saw coming and couldn’t be more thankful that I go the opportunity.”

For Rivers it was a great ride. For the Colts, this is just the beginning of a long process to search for their next starting quarterback.