Cut Colts QB Anthony Richardson? Keep Jason Bean? Start Riley Leonard?
Those are the thoughts circulating among some Indianapolis Colts fans after a desultory preseason where the only quarterbacks who looked worthy of playing time were the sixth-round 2025 NFL Draft pick darling out of Notre Dame, Riley Leonard, and the undrafted camp darling from 2024, Jason Bean of Kansas.
And they looked worthy only for one half each, in the third exhibition against Cincinnati, playing against future physical therapists and Uber drivers serving as the Bengals’ third- and fourth-stringers.
Then again, Leonard and Bean were playing alongside future physical therapists and Uber drivers as well. The Colts held out their top four offensive linemen, top three receivers, top two tight ends and their star running back, but Leonard and Bean looked (mostly) excellent anyway.
What does any of it mean? It means your guess is as good as mine and it’s time to Mailbagg™!
Is Riley Leonard better than Anthony Richardson?
We’re starting with a bang, by highlighting the dud that some Colts fans think is Anthony Richardson, aka AR5 … aka bust??!!
As a reminder, this here Mailbagg is the best of the best, or perhaps the worst of the worst, of my weekly interactions with IndyStar readers on our IndyStar text message group. Join us on the link below any of my columns. It’s free! And the only texts you’ll receive are the ones I send the group: the first look at my latest columns, and an occasional insight into this or that. I see every text from every reader – more than 3,000 have signed up – but readers see only my four or five weekly texts.
But some of your texts are too good not to share. Which led me to create the Mailbagg last August. Which leads to some responses to the text I sent after the Colts’ final preseason game at Cincinnati, a 41-14 blowout of the Bengals.
From: Me to the group
“If you’re expecting something calm and reasonable from me after that preseason show by Colts third-string QB Riley Leonard today at Cincinnati, well, you don’t know me very well.
“Or you didn’t see how good Leonard just looked.”
“My latest:”
Doyel wonders: Low bar, but are we sure Leonard isn’t better than Jones, Richardson?
From: Karen W.
If the Colts are truly to be run like a business and not like a tribute to Jim Irsay, then AR5 should be cut. Our QB’s should be Daniel Jones, Leonard and Bean
I think it’s too soon to give up on Richardson. But give me until late December. One way or another, we’ll know. And if we still don’t know in December … then, yeah, we do know.
From: Joe S.
IÂ haven’t watched even one play of Leonard at QB this pre-season but I know he is better today than Richardson, who is in his third training camp. Leonard has played a lot of college football, far more than Richardson, and during that time played QB far better than Richardson has ever played it whether we are talking college or the NFL. Given time Riley Leonard has a chance to be at minimum a dependable No. 2, and don’t sleep on him being the starter if this Daniel Jones experiment doesn’t work out.
You think all that about Riley Leonard without watching a SINGLE one of his plays this fall? Impressive, really. You could do my job.
From: Jerry H.
I don’t think any of them are worth a damn
You could do my job, too.
Is Riley Leonard better than Daniel Jones?!?
From: Mike C.
This season already feels on the brink enough that I can see Leonard starting, ahhh, say the 12th game of the season? One way or another he plays this year. Yeh rah.
Your excitement is palpable, Mike, and by that mean I’d need a stethoscope to detect even the slightest palpitation of your sad little Colts-loving heart.
From: Greg Z.
Riley Leonard is Brock Purdy Jr.
I seriously wish I’d written this in my column. As in: Why not? Seriously. Purdy, the last player drafted – aka Mr. Irrelevant – becoming the starter in San Francisco as a rookie in 2022, over Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, is weirder than the idea of Riley Leonard beating out Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson.
But I’m tired of all you people showing how easy it is to do my job.
More fun with airport codes
To recap:
A week ago here on the text message group and ensuing Mailbagg, a reader trying to make sense of the unholy alliance between Barstool’s Dave Portnoy and IndyCar’s Roger Penske mentioned seeing them both in Nantucket, which he referred to as ACK. Well, that had me looking it up and confirming, yup, ACK is the three-letter IATA code for Nantucket Memorial Airport. So we had some fun with that.
A few days later this happened.
From: Me to the group
“Hi folks. Just got this from Tony C., who read last week’s Mailbagg:
“The airport code for Sioux City, IA is ‘SUX
“AND HE’S NOT KIDDING. Just looked it up. That is so very sad. Kinda funny tho.”
And then this happened.
From: Gary W.
I lived in Sioux City as a kid. Liked it. Kind of best known as the burial place of the only member of the Corps of Discovery – Lewis & Clark – who died on the expedition. So we had that. Admittedly, not a lot else.
And that’s not all that much.
From: Chris K.
“Our airport sux. No, seriously, that’s the airport code!”
Could be worse. Read on…
From: Tony C.
I’m an aviation nerd but get this: Finnair (Europe) has a flight 666 into Helsinki.
Airport Code? HEL
Not touching that one. But I’d like to point out this whole thing started with Dave Portnoy. Apparently we’ve come full circle.
From: Jay S.
I’m driving with Focus turned on. I’ll see your message when I get where I’m going.
Hope you’re not going to, um, Helsinki.
Last week’s Mailbagg: Three columns and a wedding – starring Caitlin Clark, Dave Portnoy
Not printing these
From: Robert M.
Wow, you were taking a beating on the X (Twitter) with your IMS/IndyCar article.
What’s new? Those folks love to hate empathetic people. Why? Because we hate what we don’t understand.
From: Michael D.
Oh how I wish you’d spelled it “grammer” in your response last week to the old English teacher.
Blew that one. And it was write their!
From: Paul J.
As I’m sure you know, if you ain’t pissin’ people off, you ain’t doing a good job! Keep up the good work!
Apparently I’m doing a great job. Like, historical. I’m talking GOAT status here, when it comes to pissin’ people off.
But to be honest, readers have gotten softer. Hey, they have. There are so many outlets willing to tell people EXACTLY what they want to hear, folks don’t know how to take someone like me.
From: Ryan R.
I have followed you through your divorce then my own….no words….I think you will understand my brother.
My man. I’m sorry for the massive change there, and all that means. Hope you find as much happiness on the other side as I have here.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Threads, or on BlueSky and Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar, or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar. Subscribe to the free weekly Doyel on Demand newsletter.