On Sunday, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a torn Achilles, ending what had been a strong season for a player who'd been discarded by the Giants last season. Jones looked like a bona fide NFL starting quarterback and was on his way to not only leading the Colts to a playoff berth, but to earning a long-term deal this offseason.
Now, the Colts have a problem.
How the Colts could make the playoffs without Daniel Jones
At 8-5, the Colts are still very much alive in the playoff race, especially with games remaining against Jacksonville and Houston. However, it was pretty clear during Sunday's 36-19 loss to the Jaguars that rookie Riley Leonard isn't the guy to lead the team to the postseason. He was 18-for-29 for 145 yards and an interception in the loss.
Unfortunately, the Colts didn't make a move at the trade deadline for a veteran backup, so their options are limited. If Leonard's not the guy, then Indianapolis has to look at free agent options or sign someone off another team's practice squad. Even then, there's no guarantee that the team will be able to win with that quarterback.
Here are three quarterbacks that the Colts could go grab if the team wants to at least attempt to salvage things and back into a playoff spot.
Bailey Zappe
Bailey Zappe posted solid numbers as a rookie in 2022, winning both of his starts for the Patriots and completing 70.7 percent of his pass attempts. The subsequent two seasons were not great, though — Zappe was 2-4 as a starter in 2023 and threw nine interceptions, and he struggled mightily in his lone 2024 start with the Browns.
Zappe is currently on the Browns practice squad after his offseason move to Kansas City failed. The prolific college passer hasn't figured out the NFL game, but he has some starting experience and should offer a little more than Leonard can.
Trevor Siemian
If the Colts want a veteran option to help steady things with Jones out, the team could do worse than going after Titans practice squad quarterback Trevor Siemian. The 33-year-old hasn't played an NFL game since 2023, but he has 33 starts on his resume, and he was 2-1 as a starter in his most recent NFL stint.
Siemian's best days are surely behind him, and his career completion percentage of 58.5 is worrisome. But the Colts are desperate here, and Siemian might have the veteran savvy to just go out there and game-manage the team to a victory or two to help the team back into the postseason.
Sam Ehlinger
Sam Ehlinger, who is currently on the Broncos practice squad, is probably the most likely option if the Colts sign someone and don't just roll with Leonard plus current practice squad member Brett Rypien.
That's because Ehlinger has experience with this team. Sure, he hasn't played an NFL game since 2023 and hasn't thrown a pass since 2022, but Ehlinger was in Indianapolis for Shane Steichen's first season, so he should understand this system somewhat.
Ehlinger is a risky option because he has very little meaningful NFL experience, but this is a case where you might need to value understanding of the system more than you value anything else.
Does any of this even matter?
Probably not. The Jaguars and Texans have both been playing good football, and the Colts' don't have a realistic path toward adding a quarterback at this point who they can actually trust.
Sure, the options above are probably better than Leonard, but none of them are guarantees. Indianapolis losing Jones is very likely going to kill all the momentum this team has had, reshaping the playoff picture in the process.
But the Colts have to do something. The team traded its 2026 first-round pick already, so tanking only helps the Jets have a better draft pick. Indianapolis is in a terrible spot at the moment, but the team simply has to forge ahead and hope something works to salvage it.