Colts release final unofficial depth chart for preseason Week 3 vs. Lions, with backup-QB and kicker battles set to finish

The Indianapolis Colts released their final unofficial depth chart for the 2026 preseason Monday, setting the stage for their Week 3 matchup against the Detroit Lions. The move matters because it comes at the end of the pregame evaluation window most clubs use to separate the starters’ roles from the remaining roster competitions.

Head coach Shane Steichen pointed to two jobs that, in his view, have been left unresolved: the backup quarterback role and the team’s kicker competition. He said the decisions will come down to the Colts’ final preseason game, after what he described as the latest chapter in those contests during Saturday’s preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Depth charts in the preseason are labeled “unofficial” for a reason. They reflect how a team expects to distribute reps and roles in a specific game plan, not a guarantee of final roster order. Even so, by issuing the last unofficial chart before Detroit, the Colts indicated that they are comfortable enough with their overall roster structure to focus on the last positions still in flux.

For the backup quarterback battle, the preseason is typically where coaching staffs blend performance, chemistry, and game-plan fit. The Colts’ approach, as described by Steichen, suggests they have not yet settled on a clear pecking order entering the third and final preseason opponent. The Lions game is therefore positioned as the closing audition for whichever quarterback can best handle the timing, protection reads, and play-calling rhythm the staff wants from the backup group.

The kicker competition carries its own urgency because it is often determined quickly once the team has enough information to judge consistency in real game conditions. Steichen’s comment framed kicking as the other unresolved piece of the preseason puzzle. With Detroit the last scheduled chance to evaluate in-game execution, the Colts’ kicking decision is likely tied closely to what they see during this matchup.

The released chart also provides a snapshot of the Colts’ depth groupings across the roster heading into Detroit, which can shape how fans interpret playing time when multiple units see snaps. It is still a preseason game, so roles can compress depending on situational substitutions, but an official final chart is the clearest window the team provides before the preseason ends.

What to watch next is straightforward: how the Colts deploy their backup quarterback options and how the kicking staff uses the top candidates during the Lions game. Those decisions will carry additional meaning because the preseason finale tends to be the last practical evaluation step before the roster picture tightens.

If the Colts’ internal ranking has been close, the Lions matchup could function as a decisive tie-breaker, with the coaching staff pointing to the players who best execute the plan under live-game timing. Regardless of outcome, this is the final preseason checkpoint for Indianapolis as it converts training-camp lookalikes into a more permanent weekly roster structure.