Shane Steichen says Anthony Richardson will start Colts’ preseason opener

The Indianapolis Colts will put Anthony Richardson at quarterback for their preseason opener on Thursday, a decision that suggests the team is not moving on from the former fourth-overall pick for now. Colts coach Shane Steichen told reporters that Richardson will start, positioning him to get extended live reps as the team turns the page from summer work to the first meaningful game-week preparation.

The announcement comes amid a backdrop of uncertainty that, at least in online speculation, had framed a possible “divorce” between the Colts and Richardson as increasingly likely. The decision to name Richardson as the starter for the opening preseason game reframes that storyline. It does not settle long-term planning in a single week, but it does report that Indianapolis views the quarterback as a meaningful part of its immediate evaluation process.

Preseason quarterback play, even more than in-season snaps, often serves two purposes at once: measuring execution and seeing how an offense responds when defenses simplify and games become more experimental. By starting Richardson early, the Colts are leaning into that evaluation window. For Richardson, it creates an opportunity to demonstrate comfort in the pocket, timing with receivers, and decision-making when the cadence of a real game replaces practice structure.

Steichen’s comments also matter because the head coach is explicitly tying the starter decision to Thursday’s opener. While the Colts can still rotate quarterbacks in later preseason contests, beginning with Richardson places a marker down the depth chart. It suggests the coaching staff wants to see what its top quarterback can produce when the stakes are still low enough to take chances, but the reads are real enough to expose what is working and what is not.

The broader Colts picture is that quarterback development can be a season-long project, and preseason performance rarely resolves everything. Still, the first start is a strong indicator of how the organization is managing its quarterback room right now and how it plans to distribute practice emphasis and in-game reps. If Richardson’s performance improves the offense’s rhythm, that will likely reinforce the team’s confidence in continuing to build around him.

For fans and roster-watchers, the key question after the opener is not simply how Richardson performs in isolation, but how the Colts use the rest of the preseason. Do they keep leaning on the starter longer, do they lift him for specific packages, or do they broaden the evaluation by giving other quarterbacks sustained series? Those choices will reveal what the team’s priorities are as cuts approach.

The start also keeps Indianapolis in the middle of a quarterback narrative that can quickly change once the regular season approaches. Even if Richardson starts the preseason opener, the Colts’ ultimate decision-making will be informed by full-week trends, offseason process, and how the offense performs with the quarterback in different situations. Thursday’s gameweek move is the latest chapter, not the final one.