Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced that quarterback Riley Leonard will start the season finale this Sunday against the Houston Texans.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts have ended speculation and officially named Riley Leonard their starting quarterback for this Sunday's season finale on the road against the Houston Texans, head coach Shane Steichen announced on Wednesday.
The rookie sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame will be making his first career start and seeing only his second game of extended action. He came in for Daniel Jones in Week 14 when Jones tore an Achilles.
Three weeks ago, the Colts called upon one of their former starting quarterbacks, the retired 44-year-old high school coach Philip Rivers, to help salvage their season in its final four games, thereby usurping Leonard. However, after Rivers and the Colts have gone 0-3 with one game remaining against the Texans — and the postseason not a possibility — the Colts are turning to the younger option.
While Anthony Richardson Sr. is also a possibility to start on Sunday in Houston, aside from Rivers or rookie sixth-round pick Riley Leonard, Richardson remains on Injured Reserve after fracturing the orbital bone around one eye in October. While he has been practicing, he has had reduced visibility due to the injury. Steichen announced that they will not activate Richardson due to visibility limitations.
Before Rivers returned to the Colts this season, he trained young quarterbacks, including Leonard, in the offseason in their mutual hometown of Fairhope, Ala. Rivers has now had a front-row seat to Leonard's development over the last three weeks.
“Riley's a pro," Rivers said of his protege. "Riley is going to work at it hard, and obviously, I don't want to put a ceiling on anything that he can do, and certainly will always continue to pull for him. But I said before he ever got drafted, or even early on when he was at Notre Dame, when I got to be with him and some of his guys, I was like, ‘He's going to be a double-digit guy in the NFL.’
"To what extent that is, who knows, right? Is he a starter? He's one of those guys that is talented enough throwing it, and he's obviously athletic enough to run around, and he's going to work at it because he cares enough about it that he's going to be around somewhere for a long time.”
The Colts visit the Texans at NRG Stadium this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET. on CBS.
Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL.