The Colts will start rookie Riley Leonard at quarterback for their Week 18 season finale against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium, head coach Shane Steichen said Wednesday.
Leonard will tag in for Philip Rivers, who started the Colts' last three games after coming out of retirement following Daniel Jones' season-ending Achilles' injury sustained in early December.
The 23-year-old Leonard made his NFL debut at the end of the Colts' Week 8 blowout win over the Tennessee Titans. He came off the bench for an injured Jones in the second quarter of the Colts' Week 14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and completed 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards and ran in a touchdown.
The Colts will not activate quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. from injured reserve this week. Steichen said Richardson, who has participated in practice over the last two weeks while still on injured reserve, is still dealing with vision limitations stemming from a freak accident during pregame warm-ups in Week 6.
