The Colts have a little over a week until rosters must be cut down to 53 players by 6 p.m. on Aug. 30.
But leading up to that date, the team has been firm in something they want for their roster – and that's having three quarterbacks on it.
Daniel Jones will be one of them, of course. And as Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson Sr.'s battle to back up Jones continued with Saturday's preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, the scenario in which both quarterbacks are on the Colts' 53-man roster is becoming more and more realistic.
Richardson, the 2023 No. 4 overall pick, submitted a trade request to the Colts in the spring, and general manager Chris Ballard said in July that request remains active. But Richardson very much has a chance to win the Colts' backup gig; even the team goes with Leonard, Richardson could still have value to a team that needed three different starting quarterbacks in 2025.
And Richardson, to his credit, is focused on doing whatever the Colts need.
"I'm just looking forward to helping the team," Richardson said. "They truly believe that I have a chance to be on this squad and I love that. I just want to be able to contribute, put my best foot forward and help the team win."
Richardson on Saturday played the entire second half of the Colts' 34-6 loss to the Falcons, completing three of nine passes for 24 yards and rushing three times for 15 yards. It wasn't the efficient 11/14 showing Richardson had last week against the New England Patriots, but the entire Colts' offense struggled on Saturday while being staffed with exclusively second- and third-stringers.
Head coach Shane Steichen pointed to the Colts' going 1/11 on third downs between halves quarterbacked by Leonard and Richardson.
"We weren't staying on the field, we weren't converting," Steichen said. "We've got to be a lot better in a lot of situations."
Richardson will get back to work at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center with one more week of practice and one more game left until the Colts make a decision on their 53-man roster. And, as has been the case even after his trade request, he's done so without mentally having one foot out the door; instead, he's committed to bettering himself and the Colts however he can.
"Whenever I go out there and get my reps, make them count and execute," Richardson said. "Just do my job the best way I can and protect the ball and manage the game."
