Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (#5) waves to the fans during Colts Camp at Grand Park Sports Campus, Tuesday, July 29, 2025 in Westfield. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters CoIndianapolis Coltshead coach Shane Steichenindicated on Tuesday in Foxborough that backup quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. will receive the start on the road for Thursday nights preseason opener against the New England Patriots, playing in the first half, while fellow quarterback Riley Leonardwill take over in the second half.#Colts head coach Shane Steichen shared Anthony Richardson will start at QB against the Patriots, with Riley Leonard playing the second half.He also said Daniel Jones will not be playing in any preseason game. pic.twitter.com/eDEM6RyUG3 WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) August 11, 2026The plan is then for Leonard to start a week later when the Colts host the Atlanta Falcons in preseason, with Richardson then coming in relief of him in the 2nd half of action.Of course, as noted above, Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones, whos so far looked very sharp in training camp and has shown no lingering effects of last seasons Achilles tear, will not play in any preseason games. Regarding the Colts QB2 competition behind Jones with Richardson and Leonard as the challengers, neither backup quarterback has clearly separated himself from the other throughout training camp so far. Preseason could be an ideal opportunity for either backup quarterback to make their case for the QB2 job. Regarding Richardson, hes still made the occasional highlight reel throw in Colts camp, but its just a matter of achieving greater consistency. Of critical importance for Richardson will be showing that some of the fumbled snap issues hes had in training camp are just an aberration and not a lingering issue of potential vision loss. Colts head coach Shane Steichen cant accept unnecessary turnoversand rightfully so, no coach could. For what its worth, Leonard, whos also had an up-and-down camp so far, reportedly had a strong showing running with the 2s during Tuesday mornings joint training camp practice with the Patriots just ahead of the two teams Week 1 preseason game.