Anthony Richardson is Indianapolis’ QB2. Here is what the job actually requires.
Shane Steichen named Richardson the backup behind Daniel Jones and Riley Leonard the third quarterback. The decision changes Richardson’s weekly work before it changes his long-term ceiling.
Confirmed facts are sourced to official league and team pages. FourthWire interpretation is labeled as analysis.
CONFIRMED REPORTING
The Indianapolis Colts have set their quarterback order for the start of the 2026 season: Daniel Jones is the starter, Anthony Richardson Sr. is the backup and Riley Leonard is the third quarterback.
Head coach Shane Steichen announced the QB2 decision Thursday. Richardson and Leonard had split second- and third-team work during training camp and handled most of the preseason snaps. Richardson completed 21 of 33 preseason passes for 249 yards, according to the Colts.
WHAT IS CONFIRMED
Richardson won the backup job and will prepare behind Jones. Leonard will serve as QB3. The club has not announced a plan to rotate quarterbacks or a timetable for changing the order.
Richardson requested a trade in February but remained with Indianapolis and, in the team’s account, continued to work positively through the offseason and competition.
WHAT QB2 MEANS
The backup must be ready to run the active game plan with limited live practice repetition. That requires command of protections, the ability to communicate the weekly checks and enough familiarity with the opponent plan to enter without the offense changing identity.
It also makes Richardson one play away from the field. That is responsibility, not a prediction that Jones will be unavailable.
FOURTHWIRE ANALYSIS: THE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
The useful evaluation now moves away from preseason box scores. Richardson’s progress should be judged through consistency in practice, command of the scout-team and backup periods, and how quickly the staff can trust him with the full menu of answers at the line of scrimmage.
Winning QB2 preserves a route to meaningful snaps. It does not settle his long-term future, but it gives Indianapolis a reason to keep investing in the work required to find out.
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