According to Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen on Sunday, the expectation right now is that each of the team’s two competitors vying for the QB1 job will alternate starts in the upcoming preseason games (via Fox59/CBS4’s Mike Chappell):
That means that each of 3rd-year pro Anthony Richardson and veteran addition Daniel Jones will get an opportunity with the first-team offense during this year’s preseason.
The Colts travel to Baltimore this week for their preseason opener on Thursday night (8/7), and then host the Green Bay Packers on Saturday (8/16) of the subsequent weekend.
Some Colts gurus have anticipated that Jones, who initially got the first-team reps on offense during training camp (*before alternating with Richardson), will get the road start against the Ravens this Thursday, with Richardson getting the nod at home a weekend later:
Right now, their respective preseason performances means more than their current order.
As ColtsFilmRoom points out, Steichen has typically treated Week 2 of preseason as a game for backups—historically sitting his starters, with the Week 3 preseason finale being the real dress rehearsal for the regular season, with his starters playing at least the first quarter.
Therefore, whoever gets the nod for the preseason finale may be the most telling sign.
Through Colts training camp so far, Richardson has arguably been the slightly stronger option of the two, featuring more big play ability, while Jones has been consistently more steady, albeit unspectacular with less explosive plays.
