WESTFIELD, Ind. – Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson Sr. continued rotating between the second- and third-team offense during the Colts' second training camp practice of 2026 on Thursday at Grand Park, with that rotation being the plan going forward as the Colts figure out who will back up Daniel Jones this season.
This is a competition, though, that doesn't necessarily have a preferred end date – as you'd see with a QB1 battle, which teams generally like to settle with enough time to prepare for Week 1. And general manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday his intent is to carry Jones, Leonard and Richardson on the Colts' roster when it's cut to 53 players on Aug. 30.
So over the next few weeks, expect to see Leonard and Richardson continue to rotate those reps, whether it's in practice, joint practices or preseason games.
"It's neck and neck right now," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. "Those guys are out there competing and practicing hard, and they'll have a full camp with a bunch of good reps to to evaluate for us."
On Wednesday, Leonard ripped a completion to tight end Will Mallory over the middle and pinged quicker throws to tight end Drew Ogletree and wide receiver Deion Burks. Richardson, meanwhile, found wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine a few times and completed a dart over the middle to wide receiver Anthony Gould, who showed good hands plucking the ball out of the air.
"There've been some nice throws on both sides, some nice plays on both sides," Cooter said. "It's that time of training camp – we're just sort of starting to open up the passing game a little bit."
Both Leonard and Richardson have had standout moments during regular season games, albeit with Richardson having significantly more experience. Leonard impressed in his lone career start, with 270 yards and three total touchdowns against the Houston Texans in Week 18 of the 2025 season. And for all the ups and downs Richardson has experienced over his career, the Colts are 8-7 in games he's started.
"We're looking for guys that can move the offense, guys that can move the team and potentially win games when needed," Cooter said. "... (And) generally doing that by playing really good football at a consistent level, just day after day, putting together good practices and good periods and good drives and and all that. So ultimately, the job of the quarterback is to lead the offense to score points and that helps the team win games. So we'll evaluate those two by who can who we think can do that the best."
News & Notes from Thursday:
- Quarterback Daniel Jones had a mostly crisp practice, completing several passes to wide receivers Laquon Treadwell, Josh Downs and Ashton Dulin as well as three to tight end Tyler Warren.
- Late in practice, though, Jones was picked off on a rollout to his left by linebacker Austin Ajiake.
- Ajiake was part of a heavily-rotated group of linebackers rolling with the first-team defense, with veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither and rookie CJ Allen (PUP) not participating in practice. In addition to Ajiake, Bryce Boettcher, Jaylon Carlies and West Weeks all took snaps with the first-team defense. Even if the Colts wind up starting Davis-Gaither and Allen at linebacker, the rotation here could have benefits for building important depth heading into the season – and it could lead to one of those players emerging as a potential starting option, too.
- Cornerback Justin Walley logged an impressive pass break-up on a deep ball.
- Special teams coordinator Brian Mason said we'll see kickers Blake Grupe and Spencer Shrader kick during Friday's practice, which'll be an early data point in what looks to be a closely-contested competition between two kickers worthy of being NFL starters.
