We're back with another edition of The Colts Show Mailbag, where I'll answer listener questions both on the podcast and here on Colts.com every Thursday.
You can submit your questions to me a few ways: At Colts.com/Mailbag, on social media (like X and Instagram) and in the YouTube comments for the podcast. Get your questions in, since next week's episode will be a full season preview – and I'll probably answer more than one on the podcast.
For this week's podcast mailbag question, I answered one from listener Jason Fried about realistic expectations for the Colts' offense in 2025 now that Daniel Jones was named the team's starting quarterback. For the answer, check out this week's episode of The Colts Show – I was also joined by wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. – wherever you get your podcasts, including on:
Let's dive into the rest of this week's batch of questions:
Peyton Hopper (Melbourne, Ky.): Why are we giving up on Richardson, when they knew he was a project QB, and also knowing that he needs on field reps to help his development?
JJ Stankevitz: The Colts have emphasized throughout this process – even before naming Daniel Jones their starting quarterback on Tuesday – that they will not give up on Richardson. Both general manager Chris Ballard and assistant general manager Ed Dodds this summer pushed back on the notion 2025 is a make-or-break year for Richardson.
Yes, the Colts will have to make a decision next spring on Richardson's fifth-year option (he's under contract through 2026; the fifth-year option would be for 2027) but there are other avenues to retain him if it winds up being the path the Colts go down.
That's a question for another day, though. To answer Peyton's question, Richardson won't get on-field game reps this season unless something were to happen to Daniel Jones, who head coach Shane Steichen said will not be on a short leash. Richardson's development will have to happen behind the scenes – in meeting rooms, with the scout team on the practice field and in learning from how Jones operates the Colts' offense.
"I think there's still room for AR to grow," Steichen said. "I mean, he's 23 years old. He's still learning, still growing, and for the first time in his career, this is an opportunity for him to sit at the start of the season and learn in a different light, and attack it the right way."
In my chat with Michael Pittman Jr. on the pod this week, Pittman told me his message to Richardson this week about about continuing to build on the improvements he's already made in 2025. And what Pittman said (see his full remarks on the pod here) echoes what we've heard from Ballard and team decision-makers over the last few months.
"He's growing. He's still young, but he's growing," Ballard said before the start of training camp. "I told you all this before, but unfortunately, growth does not happen through success. Growth happens when you have to go through a lot of (expletive), and you know, a lot of times people don't have success because they don't want to go through it. Sometimes you have to go through it."
Richardson will have to go through it as a backup now. But that doesn't mean the Colts are giving up on him, based on what's been said recently.
Tanner Edge (Rosedale, Ind.): So I have to ask: Are we missing something here, or is this truly the beginning of a full-scale rebuild? Are we just delaying the inevitable—dismantling the roster and starting fresh with a new identity, possibly even eyeing someone like Arch Manning in 2027?
JJ Stankevitz: Tanner had a longer question setting this up about the Colts' quarterback carousel over the last few years, and I do hear that. But narrowly, Steichen's decision is about 2025 and trying to win as many games as possible this season.
"This league is year to year, and you got to do what you feel is best for this football team," Steichen said. "I got a lot of confidence in the guys in that locker room. I got a lot of confidence in these coaches. We've been close, but I think the process is more important than the results, knowing that our daily habits and our discipline and our toughness will lead to that success. So, that's really where my focus is at."
The thing I want to push back on here is the idea of rebuilding. True "rebuilds" are pretty rare in the NFL, a league where teams can go from worst to first more regularly than in the NBA, or Major League Baseball, etc. And nothing the Colts have done this year – like signing Cam Bynum and Charvarius Ward in free agency – have been the actions of a team that isn't trying to win in 2025. That includes, by the way, Steichen's decision to start Jones.
Rick Skoog (Elizabethtown, Ky.): Is Riley Leonard going to get a legitimate chance at quarterback? I know he's a rookie but feel given more first-team reps he could get to be our answer to the QB situation.
JJ Stankevitz: Leonard is competing for a spot on the Colts' 53-man roster as a third quarterback, with Jones the starter and Richardson the backup. That pecking order is pretty firmly entrenched, and the Colts didn't draft Leonard with the thought he'd compete to start in 2025. Never say never – certainly not with a quarterback as competitive and intelligent as Leonard – but right now, he's working toward securing a roster spot.
Leonard on Saturday will play a considerable amount in the Colts' preseason finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, with Steichen opting to not play any first-teamers while several backups (including Richardson) will not play either.
Corey Sturdevant (Millstadt, Ill.): Now with Xavien Howard in the mix at cornerback and his familiarity with Lou Anarumo's defense, do you see him as a starting caliber player or more of a depth piece when the DB room is all healthy?
JJ Stankevitz: Good question here. Howard signed on Monday, and on Tuesday, the Colts listed him as a starting cornerback on their unofficial depth chart. That would suggest the Colts didn't just sign him as a depth piece – and given Howard's track record (29 interceptions, four Pro Bowls), it makes sense.
With Justin Walley out for the year with a torn ACL – the third-round rookie was tracking toward starting next to Charvarius Ward and Kenny Moore II – it looks like Howard will slide into that starting vacancy. That means you'll see JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones, who both returned to practice from training camp hamstring injuries this week, provide cornerback depth and possibly some snaps when the Colts go into dime (six defensive backs) defenses.
But if Howard picks up where he left off with the Miami Dolphins in 2023, and Brents and Jones are cleared for the start of the season, the Colts' cornerback depth all of a sudden will look pretty strong again.
Greg Allen (Lebanon, Ind.): QUESTION ABOUT OUR DEFENSE GOING INTO WEEK 1 OF THE REGULAR SEASON AGAINST THE DOLPHINS. Before I ask my question let me say that personally I'm relieved that Daniel Jones is starting. I don't know how he and the team will do this season, but I look forward following the Colts as the season unfolds with Jones at the helm. That out of the way, could you comment on Lou Anarumo's past experience against the Miami Dolphins? Has he game-planned against Tua in the past? How has he fared? Thanks.
JJ Stankevitz: Heck yeah, let's talk about Week 1. The regular season starts in two and a half weeks, after all.
Anarumo has faced Tua Tagovailoa twice: First in 2020 (Tagovailoa's rookie year) and then in 2022. Tagovailoa, if you remember, sustained a scary concussion in that 2022 game and exited after completing eight of 14 passes for 110 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.
Still, Anarumo's Bengals held Mike McDaniel's Dolphins to 15 points, which was Miami's second-lowest point total of a season in which they made the playoffs as the AFC No. 7 seed. The Dolphins converted just two of 10 third downs and didn't convert their lone fourth down try.
There's probably not a ton to glean from this game, though, given the challenging circumstances for the Dolphins after Tagovailoa's injury. But it's a good question and was a fun one to go look up – we're so close to football being here, folks.
