It's safe to say Riley Leonard's rookie season in the NFL progressed in a way no one could have predicted or even imagined. No one would have thought Anthony Richardson Sr. would sustain a fractured orbital bone that would lead to Leonard becoming the backup quarterback behind Daniel Jones. No one would have thought the Colts, after Jones sustained a season-ending Achilles tear, would sign 44-year-old Philip Rivers and Leonard would become the backup to the future Hall of Famer. And no one would have thought Leonard would start his first career game in the final week of his rookie season and hold his own against the best defense in the league.
And yet, through all of those unexpected changes, Leonard never wavered. The Colts were drawn to the Notre Dame quarterback in the draft process because of his confidence, leadership and positive attitude, and Leonard displayed throughout the season why they were justified in selecting him in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
For the first five weeks of the season, Leonard occupied the role of emergency third quarterback. He fully dedicated himself to learning from Jones and Richardson, even going over to Jones' house every week to review film. As Jones' backup from Weeks 6-14, Leonard appeared in two games -- most notably, coming in for three quarters in Week 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars after Jones tore his ACL. In that game, Leonard completed 18-of-29 passes for 145 yards and one interception, and recorded one rushing touchdown.
The Colts reached out to Rivers after that game, when Leonard reported some knee pain. While Leonard's injury turned out to be a minor one, Rivers would go on to join the team and make his NFL return in Week 15, starting Weeks 15-17 with Leonard as his backup. But when Week 18 rolled around, and the Colts were officially out of playoff contention, the decision was made for Leonard to be QB1, with an entire week to prepare as the team's starter. He took on that responsibility with ease, and his preparation and chemistry with his teammates was evident as he completed 21-of-34 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns, and had three carries for 21 yards and a touchdown against the Houston Texans.
"I think he's a double-digit guy, quarterback in this league," Rivers said of Leonard. "Again, I don't want to put a ceiling on what that looks like for him, in terms of starting, backing up and all those things. He's a young, young player that worked his tail off this year. He's got a great support staff here, obviously, and Daniel has been great for him. I think the coaching staff offensively is excellent. So, he's going to continue to improve and get better. But I think he showed yesterday. The guy has won a lot of football games in college. He competes at a high level, and he did a lot of good things yesterday in the game."
Against the Texans, who boasted the top defense in the league, Leonard became the first Colts quarterback to record two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in his first career start, and the first NFL quarterback to do so since Brock Purdy in 2022. Leonard's 66-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce was the longest touchdown pass by the Colts in 2025, and tied for the longest touchdown by a rookie quarterback in the 2025 regular season.
"I learned that he can definitely play in this league for a long time," Steichen said after the game, which ended up being a 38-30 loss. "The way he prepares, we see it. We've seen it all season, but to get out there and do it against the top defense like he did, especially – I know they took some of their guys out in the second half, but to have 17 points in the first half versus those guys was pretty impressive."
"I don't know what it's like for sixth-round rookie quarterbacks in the past, I don't know if they normally get opportunities or what, but I know that this was a huge opportunity for me and a huge momentum boost going into the offseason," Leonard said during locker cleanout, one day after the game. "And it could have gone a lot of ways. Whether it was really bad, you're probably overthinking a little bit of the worst possibilities, but I think it went well enough to give me the confidence to go in this offseason and attack it with the right mindset."
That, really, was Leonard's biggest takeaway from his rookie season: he can play in the NFL, and he has the potential to succeed. He took advantage of every opportunity he had, whether it was learning from his teammates or performing on the football field, and he consistently showed those traits the Colts were drawn to in the first place. And now, as Leonard enters his first NFL offseason, he's determined to only keep improving and supporting his teammates.
"I'm gonna go in with the mindset of just try to be the best version of me," Leonard said. "Obviously this is Daniel's team right now. And if he doesn't go down, obviously the season ends a lot differently. So I think being of service to him, making sure he's back and healthy, while focusing on myself when I can, will be a big deal. But by no means do I think that – Daniel's a heck of a football player so I'm excited to learn from him this offseason, and until he gets back healthy I think I'll be able to take advantage of the reps that I'm given and I'm looking forward to it."
