Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Riley Leonard Gets His Shot as STARTER, Anthony Richardson DONE for Year

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Colts have made their final quarterback move of the season, naming rookie Riley Leonard, as the starter for this Sunday's finale. Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked On. Colts, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network out there. And today's show is brought to you by GameTime.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Locked-on NFL for $20 off of your first purchase. What is up, everybody? This is Jake Arthur, the Indianapolis Colts beat writer for Roundtable Sports. And today, let's take you through the show here. So we're going to finish off some of the Q&A that you guys sent us earlier in the week. because you sent us a ton of stuff, and we just were not able to get to all of it yesterday. We're going to go over the Colts initial injury report for their final game of the season that released today. And first and really most importantly, we're going to kind of try to untangle this quarterback web that's been weaved a little bit this week.

Starting point is 00:01:18 But Shane Steichen spoke today and kind of explain things how they're going to go through it. So let's go ahead and dive into that first. So Riley Leonard has been named the starter for Sunday's game against the Houston Texans. That means Philip Rivers is now on the sideline. Now, Philip, you know, would have had the option to just, you know, go back home to Alabama and call it a day. And since he's no longer needed as the starter, just pack it up. But he is sticking around to help Riley Leonard as much as he can. he is going to be considered probably just the emergency third quarterback on Sunday.

Starting point is 00:02:00 Now, Seth Hennigan, who they signed to the practice squad yesterday, if he feels comfortable enough by the end of the week, he will be the backup behind Leonard. So if all goes to plan in Houston on Sunday, it's going to be Riley Leonard starting with Seth Hennigan as the backup, and then you have Philip Rivers likely as the emergency third quarterback. Now, where does that leave Anthony Richardson? He is still on injured reserve with his eye injury, and they are not going to activate him this year.

Starting point is 00:02:33 So Anthony Richardson's time this season is done. He's still got some visual impairment that he's working through. He spoke today as well. Basically, he could see things downfield, but I think he called it like a one-foot box or whatever it is, like his immediate surroundings, he has visual issues. He's had issues fielding snaps. I think shotgun snaps in practice, which I think he kind of attributed to just being off for a while, but I don't really know about all that because that's kind of in a quarterback's natural rhythm. And if you're having issues seeing right up close, you know, we've seen it in

Starting point is 00:03:15 the media. Like he has dropped some shotgun snaps in practice. So it doesn't sound like he was physically capable enough to play at any point this year. This would have been the final week they could activate him from IR anyways. They're not going to do that. So again, Riley Leonard is your starter against Houston, likely with Seth Hennigan as the backup, who they signed to the practice squad this week. He's a rookie, I believe undrafted out of Memphis. He looked all right when I saw him down in Mobile for the senior goal back in January.

Starting point is 00:03:47 So I wouldn't expect much from him. if he were to play. And then again, with Philip Rivers, likely as the emergency third. Now, if Hennigan doesn't feel comfortable enough, which realistically, that could be an option, then Rivers would be the backup. So that is how it all shakes out with the quarterback situation. Now, this is tough. I mean, Houston is their defense is number one in the league,

Starting point is 00:04:11 and right up there among the top in several categories. I think they're first in yards and points. They're top five or top ten against the pass, against the run, and sacks, third down defense. I think the only thing where they're kind of middle of the pack is red zone defense, oddly enough. So it's going to be a tough matchup. It does kind of smell a little bit like Sam Ellinger going and facing the doing England Patriots back in 2022. But I feel a little more confident that the Colts have more of a plan in this one. but no matter how you cut it, it's a very tough matchup.

Starting point is 00:04:51 And, of course, it's not even at home. So it's, I don't want to fully judge Leonard off of this because it's like, all right, you're a rookie sixth round pick. You've only thrown 33 balls this year, which is almost a miracle in itself for a sixth round rookie. You've only thrown 33 balls. And now you have to go against the most fearsome pass rush duo and the best defense in the league. So if it doesn't go well, which it probably shouldn't, I'm not going to wholly judge him on that.

Starting point is 00:05:22 It is, however, unfortunate that it's the last game of the season, the last opportunity for us to see him. But I think there's going to be some kind of intangible things that they're going to be judging him on as well. Beyond the quarterback situation, we got our first injury report of the week for Colts Texans. And the Colts did not practice today. They just held a walk through as has kind of been. become custom for them. So full participants, Mackay Blackman with a back injury,

Starting point is 00:05:51 that's a new pop-up. Tanner Bordellini was a full participant with a concussion. So he missed last week's game. That is good news for his availability, perhaps on Sunday, if he's already a full participant. Danny Pinter with a rib,

Starting point is 00:06:08 Berenhardt, Reimann with an elbow, the one he's been dealing with. Anthony Richardson has been a participant ever since they've activated his practice window. He was a full participant again today with the eye. Daniel Scott is on the same timeline as Anthony, actually, with his knee injury. We'll see if the Colts wind up activating Daniel Scott,

Starting point is 00:06:28 important special teams player by the end of the week. Guys who did not practice, Saus Gardner with a calf injury, I'd be shocked if they played him. I think it would almost be foolish if they played him, unless he came out and looked as good physically as he, ever has in his life. I do not think I would play him. Even still, I don't think I would play him. Jalen Jones was out with an illness. Will Mallory had a lung issue. You know, he made that tough catch last week last Sunday leaned it hard on his back. Maybe that's when it happened.

Starting point is 00:07:00 And then guard Dalton Tucker still sat out with his shoulder injury. And then JT to him a low out was limited with his oblique injury. So there you have it on the quarterback situation and injuries. Here in a moment, I'm going to go ahead and kind of round out some of the Q&A you guys sent us earlier in the week because it's loaded and we still are not able to get to all of them. So I have a feeling we're going to come out with yet another bonus episode based on Q&As throughout the rest of the week. But we'll get to that in just a moment. The NFL season is in full swing and there's nothing like being at the game, the crowd noise, the energy, and the cheering alongside other fans. watching at home is great, but being in the stadium hits different. The frustrating part has always been getting tickets, though,

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Starting point is 00:08:14 I've done that for concerts before. My wife and I went and saw a couple like live episodes of podcasts throughout the year as well. And, you know, you go into different theaters kind of in the Midwest for that. And, you know, the seats aren't too bad. So I would highly recommend using that feature. The zone deal stand out as well. And that means that you pick the section, game time picks the seats, and then you save even more. Think NFL tickets available for around 100 bucks.

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Starting point is 00:09:04 Again, create an account and redeem code locked on NFL for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today and get back. back to being there live. All right, welcome back Everydayers, and thank you for making Locked on Colts your first listen of the day, and thanks for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. If you haven't already go check out our new Everydayers Club, that means you could catch our audio ad-free, and you can get an invite to the members-only Locked-on Everydayer Club Discord server, which includes a group chat just for listeners of Locked on Colts.

Starting point is 00:09:38 to go to locked on colts.supercast.com to join or even gift a subscription. Again, that link is in the show notes as well. So by the end of the show, if you want to go check that out, we would really love it if you would participate. The link will be included in the show notes. All right, so let's get to some of this Q&A here. This one is from David McDonald. Who would be a viable general manager candidate, assuming that Chris Ballard is finally let go? You know, we cannot assume anything when it comes to this Colts team.

Starting point is 00:10:11 But I'll go with you here. If Chris Ballard is let go, I did go through and come up with a list of names that I thought would be interesting for GM for the Colts. So obviously you have to start with Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds. That's been Chris Ballard's right-hand man for pretty much the duration of his decade here. So that's the first guy you got to look at. 49ers director of scouting and football operations. Josh Williams is kind of a rising name across the league two. You look at a guy like Adam Peters who came from the 49ers to the commanders recently

Starting point is 00:10:46 and helped kind of turn them around quickly. Josh Williams is a guy who's kind of held in high regard. Same thing for the Lions and assistant general manager Ray Agnew. I mean, look at what the Lions have done. I know they're missing the playoffs this year, but the Lions were the doorstop of, the league for years and years and years, and they finally got good with the help of guys like Ray Agnew, drafting really well, fortifying their roster with pretty good free agent additions as

Starting point is 00:11:14 well. Now, there are some guys here who, they already have some Colts connections, whether it was recently or long ago, but there are still people in the Colts organization familiar with these guys. Giants, assistant general manager Brandon Brown. Now, the Giants, obviously, are not a good team right now, but they're kind of in the midst of a retool, rebuild. They have had some really solid additions that they've made, especially through the draft, getting guys like Brian Burns through trade. So Brandon Brown was in the Colts scouting department in 2015 and 16. Next up is Brown's assistant general manager, Glenn Cook. He was with the Colts from 11 to 12. The Browns are, I don't know. The Browns should always probably be better than they are, but they really seem to

Starting point is 00:12:05 botch the quarterback situation this year. They have some things left to do, obviously, in order to get back in the right direction. But they've gotten to the playoffs or have been in playoff contention a couple times in recent years. So it's not all bad when it comes to the Browns. Speaking of the Browns, though, Andrew Barry, if the Browns were to look to reset things this year. Their GM, Andrew Barry, held in very high regard in the Colts building. He and Carly Ursaid Gordon very close. Andrew Berry taught Carly a lot of what she knows.

Starting point is 00:12:45 So if the Colts had a vacancy and Andrew Barry were to become available, that's probably candidate number one right there to be completely honest with you. But we don't know. Are the Browns going to move on from Kevin Stefanski, Andrew Barry, all this? I do not cover the Browns, so I don't know how realistic that is, but we know with the Browns, they have not been strangers to making drastic moves before. One guy who's a free agent right now, Tom Telesco, he was in the Colts front office for a long time, 1999 up to 2012.

Starting point is 00:13:17 He went on to be the GM for the Chargers and the Raiders. Shane Steichen is close with him, and then there's, again, plenty of people in the Colts organization still close with him. So there are a couple examples here where if the Colts got rid of Chris Ballard, but they kept Shane Steichen and they wanted Shane to help pick a guy to work really closely with, which does happen, or they wanted to like bring in a guy who's like, tell us if you want to keep Shane. You can keep Shane if you want.

Starting point is 00:13:47 If not, we can get the search going for another guy. But that's Tom Telesco and Shane Steichen. They would probably work well together. And then Bears' assistant general manager, Ian Cunningham. I think they were together in Philadelphia. They are, they reportedly have a nice relationship as well. So if it's an instance where Shane stays and you're looking to bring in another GM to pair with him, Tom Telesco, Ian Cunningham. So that's a pretty good list right there.

Starting point is 00:14:12 I'm sure there's a million names I wasn't familiar with or didn't mention. But those were the ones that really kind of stuck out to me. This next question is from Jonathan Hankey. if the Colts do re-sign Daniel Jones, is Shane Stuyken safe? But if we do fire Shane Stuyken, do you think a new head coach could work well for Daniel Jones, just like Stuyken did? So this is an interesting question because I've discussed it with people recently. I've heard it discussed around me. Are Daniel Jones and Shane Stiking a package deal?

Starting point is 00:14:47 Maybe kind of, not like in the eyes of the organization necessarily, but like, I know Shane Steichen wants to hold on to Daniel Jones, and I think Daniel Jones, especially with what he's going through, coming back from the Achilles, probably would want to stay attached to Shane Steichen as well. So if Shane Steichen is still in Indy, I would expect Daniel Jones to be the new, or not the new, but to remain the quarterback. And, yeah, I fully expect that marriage to continue as long as Shane Steichen is still around. And I expect them to want to retain Daniel Jones.

Starting point is 00:15:27 Now, a new head coach can want a new quarterback all he wants, but what are your options? Unless you're going to go try and get Mac Jones, go get Malik Willis, try your luck at a quarterback in the second round. Or like, maybe you do enough in the offseason to build better draft capital and move up. I don't know. But there's, it's not a great list and not a great offseason to need. to quarterback. So even though Daniel Jones has his Achilles, he's probably still their best option. This one is from Chief Boy 1290.

Starting point is 00:16:03 Will the Colts ever win an AFC South title this decade? So we're about to turn the clock to 2026. So there's only a few years left to do it. I'd like to think so. Wouldn't you think? Like it's been, what, 2014 or so? The streak's got to come to an end at some point, right? I think the most telling thing is that the other three teams in the division

Starting point is 00:16:27 have all won it at least twice since the Colts have won it at all. And all of those teams have gone into atrocious circumstances and torn it down to the studs in order to get back up from where they were. Like, just think about the Jaguars. The Urban Meyer Jaguars, awful. The Tennessee Titans, they had their better days nearer the beginning. of when the Colts started to sputter out. They're kind of trying to rebuild now,

Starting point is 00:16:57 but it looks like they're doing some positive things there. And then the Texans, it seems like they've been awful and then good again a few times. I think Zach mentioned it on the show yesterday. You know, they had David Cully as head coach, Romeo or Lovie Smith as head coach. Like they went through some dark times. They had the Deshaun Watson situation.

Starting point is 00:17:15 So every other team has realized at some point that you just need to break it all down in order to build it back up. Meanwhile, the Colts have just kind of been satisfied treading water and have convinced themselves that they just always need to remain competitive and they'll figure it out from there, which to some extent is true. Like, the Colts have the most wins over that time,

Starting point is 00:17:38 but it's crazy that you've only been to the playoffs twice under Chris Ballard and haven't won the division and forever since he has not ever won the division. So, yeah, I think it might take a new GM to realize that they're just going to have to blow it up, probably, in order to get where they want to go. Because at this point, you got some aging guys on contracts that are not looking so great anymore, which we'll talk about later because that's another question. But yeah, this is another offseason of self-reflection, I think. And that's not to make it sound like the whole year was a disaster,

Starting point is 00:18:15 but I don't understand how you go from where you were in the first half to getting to where you were in the second half without kind of having to kind of take some poison pills there. This last one for this segment, have we been cursed since cutting Peyton Manning, was Ryan Grigsen a better GM than Chris Ballard? That's from Travis. You could say the Colts might be cursed. I don't think we can say that they're not. But I still stand to this day saying that it was the right move to move on for Peyton

Starting point is 00:18:47 and to go with Andrew Luck. Now, you probably don't do that without Andrew Luck sitting there waiting. I don't think the Colts would have done that if it was just RG3 there available to them. It was just the perfect storm. And Peyton himself didn't last all that long. He lasted a few more years in Denver. He had his further injuries. And a lot of people point to that and they're like, well, look what Peyton accomplished.

Starting point is 00:19:13 The Colts were not built like the Broncos were built at that time. They didn't have the office of firepower necessarily. And the Broncos were kind of a generational defense at that point. So keeping Peyton and trading, you know, getting stuff for what ultimately led to Andrew Luck and turning things into that, I still don't know that that necessarily would have won. Because look what Andrew Luck did pull the Colts to do. There was such little to, you know, there was just so little to be excited about. outside of Andrew Luck, but he pulled them to 11 and five seasons in his first three years, which kind of leads us to the Grigsman of it all. Was he a better GM than Chris Ballard?

Starting point is 00:20:00 I think they were kind of hand of different assignments. So they were both, you could say, brought in for rebuilds. But Grigsons' clock got accelerated instantly when they saw how good Andrew Luck really was. I don't think they were ready to be playoff contenders. And so rather than like building through the draft and developing, like they probably wanted to, it sped up the process. They had to load up with some veterans because suddenly their playoff and Super Bowl window exploded before they thought. Now that's not to say Grigson was a good GM because I do not think he was. Clearly the original plan changed and he wasn't able to find the right.

Starting point is 00:20:47 talent to match that i don't i don't really mind the fact that he went and got a bunch of veterans all the time like it was appropriate um for where the team wound up being at the time but i just thought they did not hit on the talent that they needed to obviously with the offensive line they had too many whiffs in the draft and you know for that i think chris ballard is a they're just in such different situations, I guess. I still think I would put Chris Ballard above Ryan Grigson in terms of

Starting point is 00:21:23 who was the better GM. Because I mean, Chris Ballard has sustained at least treading water for years and years and years, whether they had quarterback or not. He's built okay rosters. They've just been missing big

Starting point is 00:21:39 pieces during that time. Both these guys have fatal flaws, and obviously neither of them were the guys to get the Colts where they want to go, it truly seems. But yeah, that's, we could probably have a whole hour-long squad show discussion about Grigson versus Ballard. So yeah, I think luckily for Colts fans, that is a debate we're going to be allowed to have for years and years and years. There's probably no right answer, to be completely honest with you. All right, so we still have some more questions here left to get to. So let's get to those here on the other side.

Starting point is 00:22:15 all right if daniel jones is ready but mostly immobile next year are the colts getting the same stale offense as when his fibula injury made him immobile this year no rollouts or rPO seem to make the offense very pedestrian is there any chance also that the colts retain anthony richardson and he gets a legit shot with daniel jones still recovering in early twenty twenty six that is from bc so i'll do the Anthony part first. I just think a clean break is probably what's best for both sides. Number one, Anthony has to get healthy enough to play. Like he has, hopefully his full vision returns because, I mean, he already is a guy who is

Starting point is 00:23:01 going to be a tough sell to other teams based on how things have gone with his injuries and with his erratic play and inconsistent play and the accuracy and stuff. But if teams know that he doesn't have full vision, then how are you going to get anything for that? I imagine, you know, him losing out the job, he probably would want to move on and get another chance somewhere else. And then the Colts probably just ready to move on, I would imagine. I just don't see much benefit to the two sides sticking it out. sometimes just a change of scenery is best. Now, for the Jones of it all,

Starting point is 00:23:43 if the offense will be kind of pedestrian, given his mobility. So I think it depends. Will he be able to get to places quickly like he was early in the season? Probably not. I think it's a matter of pain tolerance. With the fibula, they held back a lot of things to not risk making things worse.

Starting point is 00:24:07 to manage his pain. That's why they weren't, you know, quarterback sneaks, and then for the first while, they weren't, you know, doing bootlegs and things like that. He may not have his explosiveness coming back next year from the Achilles, but if he doesn't really have a bunch of pain and discomfort, they might still keep that stuff in there. As long as he can, as long as he could get to the outside in a reasonable manner and pace,

Starting point is 00:24:35 they're going to have all offseason to figure out how to navigate the offense with him coming back from an Achilles. Now, they do also hope and expect him to be ready to go for the start of the regular season despite his Achilles surgery. So I don't think the Colts are really planning to have to start anyone else at the beginning of the year because I think their hope is that they could kind of put all their eggs in the Daniel Jones basket from day one. All right, the next question here.

Starting point is 00:25:05 What are the chances that the Colts move on from some of the older players on the defensive side of the ball? Maybe they can scrape out some late-to-late round picks for guys like Zaire Franklin, Kenny Moore, et cetera, and just go scorched earth on the entire roster. That's from Rello. So I think they're going to have to be a little creative and kind of hurt some feelings if they're going to pick up extra ammo in the off-season. You obviously don't have the first-round pick. A lot of your cap spaces already, you know, and especially liquid money is kind of allocated for other certain spots.

Starting point is 00:25:39 But what do you do with Mooney Ward? You know, DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart are both going to be 32 next year at the start of next year. Buckner obviously coming back from the neck. Zaire is obviously limited. Kenny might be a little bit limited as well. So I think they're going to have to ruffle a little feathers, not just on the defensive side of the ball, but there's some guys. guys on offense as well. Then you have free agents who might be walking out the door as well.

Starting point is 00:26:05 Quitty pay has you really done anything for you to bring them back. So, yeah, I expect there to be some personnel changes on the defensive side of the ball. Obviously, if the coaching staff is let go and you don't have Lou Anirumo anymore, then that's a given. But regardless of who is the de-coordinator next year, I expect there to be some new bodies out there. This next one, does DeForest Buckner ask for a trade?

Starting point is 00:26:29 and does his neck surgery limit his options? I don't know that he would. Like, they have been so far, so worse off at times than they are now. Now, he may not be what to be part of a rebuild, if that's the case. But you're probably right. Like, I don't know what his next surgery prognosis is and, like, what all that. That's certainly, I think, going to play into what his interest would be around the league. Like, again, I don't know the specifics of it.

Starting point is 00:26:59 I don't want to dive into it too much. But I don't know that he would ask for a trade. I do think it would probably limit his options if he did the neck injury. But yeah, he could be part of a group of players. They have to kind of reevaluate because, again, coming off the neck injury that he's had to be sideline for twice this year at 32 years old going into next season, there's just, that's tough conversations you have to have. All right. And then this last one for us today, would it be better to let Braden Smith go and draft his replacement? That's from Big Bill. I don't think there's any need to draft his replacement because they think it's Jalen Travis. So this is kind of a question that kind of answered itself for the Colts. They didn't have to force their hand.

Starting point is 00:27:47 So Braden going on IR with a concussion and neck. It opened the door for Jalen Travis to get the start on the right side. And that's after they got to see him start a couple weeks ago on the left side when they had even. more issues on on the offensive line i think jalen travis has looked pretty good i i think you know it's it's tough to let a guy like braden smith who's been here for a while ago um but this is the final year of his deal you don't have to like cut him you just you already have his replacement on deck uh with jalen travis so no need to draft his replacement no need to cut him to save money or anything. You just kind of let his contract expire and see that does he want to be a backup?

Starting point is 00:28:34 Like he's played well enough to be a starter still. But I'm very interested in what Braden Smith wants to do in the offseason. Maybe he wants to keep playing because he's just kind of, he's got a new perspective than everybody else does for the most part. He spoke about it a little bit during the season that he's just kind of being where his feet is and doesn't know what his future holds and hasn't thought about it yet. So we'll see. But with Braden Smith, I do think his starting replacement for next year is already on the roster with Jalen Travis.

Starting point is 00:29:05 All right, guys. So that is a wrap for today. Thanks again for tuning in and making Locked-on Colts your first listen. Tomorrow I'll be hopping on with John Hickman of Locked-on Texans for Crossover Thursday to break down Sunday's matchup between the Colts and Texans. Make sure you subscribe and follow Locked-on Colts so that you get all the latest episodes. If you don't already follow at Locked on Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach Hicks 2 on social media. If you guys never miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is perfectly built for you. Get Locked on Colts ad-free, plus members-only Discord access and more.

Starting point is 00:29:39 Head to Lockedoncultz.supercast.com to join the club. For those of you on YouTube or on video, we're going to go ahead and send you to the first ever 24-7 national NBA YouTube channel. on audio, make sure you make your next listen to the Locked-on NFL podcast. With that, you guys have a great day. We'll see you guys later tonight for the Locked-on Colts Squad show, which we should have a special guest. And then again, tomorrow for Cross over Thursday.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Riley Leonard Gets His Shot as STARTER, Anthony Richardson DONE for Year

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