Quarterback chaos hit the Colts fast. In just two days, everything fell apart. Daniel Jones—brought in on a one-year, $14 million deal to lead the offense—didn’t even make it out of the first quarter against Jacksonville. No big hit or dramatic collision; just a bad step on a slick field. He tried to throw, planted his foot, and went down hard, grabbing his right leg. You could see the pain on his face. The MRI told the rest of the story: he tore his Achilles. Total nightmare for the team.


Jones was on fire in his first season with the Colts, bouncing back after five years as the Giants’ starting quarterback. In 12 games before his injury, he completed 67.9% of his passes and averaged 253.4 yards a game. He threw 19 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. That 68% completion rate? It’s the second-best in Colts history, right behind Peyton Manning’s 68.8% back in 2009. Then Head Coach Shane Steichen broke the news: Jones needed surgery and would miss the rest of the season. Just like that, his year in Indianapolis was over.

The fallout goes way beyond 2025. Jones was playing on a one-year deal and looked set to lock in a big, long-term contract after reviving his career with the Colts. Now, with a torn Achilles this late in the year, the team’s got real questions about his durability heading into 2026 talks.

And things only got messier when they turned to backup Riley Leonard. The rookie, a sixth-rounder from Notre Dame, barely had any NFL action—just two passes before Sunday. Suddenly, he’s starting against one of the toughest defenses in the division. The 21-year-old struggled, completing 18 of 29 for 145 yards, no touchdowns, and one pick. The Colts lost, 36-19. Tough day all around.
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Leonard’s season just keeps getting tougher. On Monday, Steichen said Leonard’s dealing with knee pain and the team put him down as week-to-week heading into the Week 15 game against Seattle. With the rookie’s PCL sprain, the quarterback situation in Indianapolis gets even murkier.

Then there’s Anthony Richardson Sr.—the guy everyone thought would lead the team’s future. He’s still stuck on injured reserve after fracturing his orbital bone during warmups back in Week 6. Richardson’s 8-7 as a starter, and honestly, he’d be the obvious pick to fill in for Jones. But he hasn’t been cleared yet, and Steichen made it clear: you can’t mess around with an eye injury. They won’t let him near the field until they’re sure his vision’s 100%.

So right now, Brett Rypien is the only healthy quarterback left. He’s bounced around the league, and the Colts grabbed him for their practice squad after Richardson got hurt in October. Rypien’s started four games and split them, 2-2. Last year, he played for the Rams—threw four touchdowns but had nine picks over 11 games.

And then, out of nowhere, the Colts made headlines on Monday by bringing in Rivers for a workout. Rumors said he’d work out Tuesday, but he actually came in Monday night. From what people saw, Rivers can still sling it. The team’s at least thinking about adding the veteran to the practice squad.
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Rivers turned 44 the same day the Colts said they wanted to bring him in for a workout—a pretty wild move for a team in the middle of a crisis. Most people remember him as the face of the Chargers for years, but his last NFL season actually happened in Indianapolis back in 2020. That year, he led the Colts to an 11-5 record and got them into the playoffs. He completed 68% of his 543 passes for 4,169 yards and threw 24 touchdowns to just 11 picks. When the playoffs rolled around, he went 27-for-43 for 308 yards and a touchdown, but the Colts barely lost to the Bills.

There’s a real connection between Rivers and Steichen. Steichen worked as Rivers’ quarterbacks coach in San Diego and Los Angeles from 2016 to 2019, and then stepped up as the interim offensive coordinator in 2019. They know each other’s style inside and out, so if Rivers really tries this comeback, he won’t need much time to adjust—he already understands how Steichen likes to run things, as long as his body holds up.

During his five years away from the NFL, Rivers didn’t just sit around. He’s been coaching high school football in Alabama at St. Michael Catholic, and by all accounts—including ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler—he’s stayed in good shape. He’s kept busy working with both NFL and college quarterbacks, so he hasn’t let himself go physically.

If Rivers really does come back, it’d be a huge shock for the NFL. He ended his 17-year career after 2020, already locked in as one of the league’s best passers ever. He sits seventh all-time in passing yards with 63,440, and sixth in touchdown passes at 421. He made eight Pro Bowls, and everyone who followed his career knows how sharp he was—quick decisions, pinpoint throws, and a knack for reading defenses that few could match.
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Rivers hasn’t played an NFL snap in five years. That’s a huge gap, and let’s be honest, it’s fair to wonder if a 44-year-old can really jump back into pro football and hold his own. Sure, he’s still got the brain for it and his mechanics haven’t disappeared, but the NFL gets faster every year. Defenses hit harder. Just keeping up with that kind of speed and athleticism is a big ask.

Looking at the Colts, you can see why they’re desperate. They started off hot—7-1 and leading the AFC South, dreaming about a championship. But then the wheels fell off. They dropped four of the last five games. Now they’re 8-5, their playoff odds have crashed to 30%, and their shot at winning the division for the first time since 2014 is basically gone.

They tried to fix things midseason, too. The Colts made a splashy trade, sending A.D. Mitchell and some draft picks to the Jets to get Sauce Gardner, a two-time All-Pro. That’s not the kind of move you make unless you’re certain your quarterback situation is locked down. General Manager Chris Ballard only pulls the trigger on something like that if he’s sure Jones is coming back—either on a new deal or under the franchise tag.

Now, heading into Week 15 against Seattle, the Colts are facing the shakiest quarterback situation they’ve ever had. Coach Steichen didn’t give much away, just said they’re “working through everything” and promised to update everyone soon. Nobody knows if Rivers will actually come back, but even the fact that people are talking about it shows just how messy things have gotten for the Colts at quarterback.

For Rivers, thinking about a comeback means choosing between his family and the game he loves. For the Colts, it’s one last shot to save a season that’s slipped away.

We’ll see in the next few days if this reunion actually happens. No matter what, though, the Colts’ quarterback mess has already changed the direction of their season and pushed the whole franchise into unfamiliar territory as they try to rescue 2025.