Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) walks up the field Tuesday, June 10, 2025, during NFL Colts mandatory mini camp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center in Indianapolis. Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Colts Have Silver Lining Within Messy QB Situation

Originally posted on Indianapolis Colts on SI
By Jared Koch | Last updated Jun 12, 2025 5:09 PM ET

Heading into the 2025 NFL season for the Indianapolis Colts, there's a lot of negative talk and concerns surrounding what this quarterback room and overall situation could hold for the year ahead, and how things could inevitably unravel leading into Week One.

However, while most of the general consensus around how the Colts' passing situation between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones could go next season has had some considerable worry, one outlet sees the Indianapolis quarterback room with a bit of a glass-half-full approach.

That comes from CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin, who recently stacked up his picks for the best 10 backup quarterback situations across the NFL next season, where the Colts found themselves sitting within the top-three in the league at third-place, with Jones being considered the QB2.

"Like the Browns, it's not so much that the Colts are loaded with star power as much as they don't have a clear gap between their presumptive starter (Anthony Richardson) and the rest of the room," Benjamin wrote. "Jones, in fact, could even open 2025 as QB1, though we'd bet he'll function more as an in-season audible. The ex-first-rounder never became a steady downfield passer for the New York Giants, but he weathered poor infrastructure with toughness and mobility."

Just ahead of the Colts' backup situation with a better outlook lies only two teams for Benjamin: the Atlanta Falcons with Kirk Cousins, and the Los Angeles Rams rising to the top with Jimmy Garoppolo.

For Jones, though, when compared to the two names ahead of him, one key difference remains in that he could have a reasonable shot to take the starting job and the keys to his respective offense with the right steps through the Colts' offseason training, especially with Richardson's newest shoulder injury, stripping him of a few early reps to make a strong impression.

Whoever does take that starting role, though, does seem like they'll have the tools at their disposal in this offense to put together a solid season. Whether you look at their receiver group, in the backfield, or even on an offensive line that'll look a bit different from a year ago, this scoring unit outside of quarterback is ready to roll.

As the one commanding this group at the line of scrimmage? That aspect still remains to be seen.

On paper, the perception may lead you to believe that Richardson has the edge over the team's offseason addition of Jones as the team's 2023 fourth-overall pick in the first round, still giving Indianapolis an appealing outlook when it comes to their QB2. But, in reality, the Colts' backup situation might be a bit less ironed out than one may expect.