Colts plan QB rotation in preseason opener vs. Patriots, Steichen says

The Indianapolis Colts’ preseason opener will include a deliberate quarterback rotation, head coach Shane Steichen said ahead of the team’s Thursday night game at the New England Patriots.

According to Steichen, the Colts plan to rotate two of their top backup options, Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard, during the matchup. The approach frames the preseason opener not as a long, continuous look for a single quarterback, but as an intentional sharing of reps designed to evaluate how each report-caller handles game conditions against a Patriots opponent.

Steichen’s comments, as reported by The Athletic’s James Boyd and carried by Yahoo Sports, point to a clear coaching philosophy for this specific contest: use the limited preseason window to gather information on multiple players. Rather than treating the opening game as a one-quarterback showcase, the Colts appear to be dividing time in a way that can help the staff compare reads, timing, and decision-making across different game situations.

For Richardson, who has been viewed in the modern NFL era as a developmental quarterback with a dual-threat skill set, a preseason rotation still matters because it offers live reps where the protection, tempo, and coverage patterns are not identical to practice. The Colts can also look for how quickly he processes defensive disguises and whether his throws match the timing of the offensive rhythm the starters are working to establish.

For Leonard, the same logic applies from a different angle. When a team plans to use him in a preseason opener alongside Richardson, it gives the staff a chance to evaluate pocket tempo, throw windows, and command of the offense under the pressure of game-plan constraints and opponent adjustments. Preseason time is often where staffs separate theoretical improvements from repeatable execution, and rotation schedules can be built around that evaluation goal.

The Colts’ opponent, the Patriots, bring their own defensive wrinkles and live personnel looks, which is precisely why coaches try to maximize evaluation opportunities in the first meaningful preseason game. A rotation can also reduce the risk of overextending a quarterback or a specific package, while still letting the staff see enough variations to judge what each quarterback can carry forward.

What to watch next is whether the rotation continues through later preseason reps and how quickly the offense appears to settle into a clear identity with each quarterback. If one of the two backup quarterbacks shows sharper timing or cleaner execution during his stretch, that could influence how the Colts structure future game scripts, even if the coaching staff is committed to continued evaluation.