Rookie quarterback Riley Leonard showed that he belongs after his first NFL start against the Houston Texans in the Indianapolis Colts’ 2025-26 regular season finale.
A sixth-round draft selection (189th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft, Leonard went from training with fellow Alabama native Philip Rivers in the pre-draft process
to learning directly from him in an NFL setting over the last month after Indianapolis brought in Rivers as a last-ditch effort to their season.Both Leonard and Anthony Richardson
were dealing with injuries at the time; otherwise, the Colts were expected to roll with one of them after starter Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Leonard did get his first shot of live action after Jones was injured against the Jaguars in early December, where he went 18-29 for 145 passing yards and 1 interception through the air, while adding a rushing score (his first career NFL touchdown).
Fast forward past the failed Rivers experiment to the regular season finale, and a healthy Riley Leonard was afforded his first opportunity as a starter. He impressed against DeMeco Ryans’s Texans defense, going 21-34 (61.8%) for 270 passing yards (7.9 average), 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and was sacked once as a passer. He also added 21 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on the ground.
Aside from the interception and one sack taken, Leonard did cough up an untimely fumble that Houston turned into six quick points, though the good far outweighed the bad. He was pushing the ball downfield at a high yet effective rate and used his legs when necessary.
As far as a meaningless season finale goes, the Colts may not be ready to put all of their eggs into Riley Leonard’s basket, but they at least confirmed their pre-draft suspicions. Leonard, at the very least, is set to be a reliable backup option for the foreseeable future. With rumors running rampant that the Colts are indeed looking to re-sign Daniel Jones — who will be working back from his Achilles injury but is reportedly set to return before training camp kicks off — Riley Leonard should be poised to compete for Indy’s starting gig in the upcoming season, and today was about as strong a second audition as one could have.
