Riley Leonard’s NFL career is still in its infancy stage. But on the day the rookie got his first career start in the Colts’ preseason finale in Cincinnati, Leonard had his best game of the preseason.
The 2025 sixth-round pick threw for a 75% completion rate and 189 yards in the first half against the Bengals. He also recorded his first NFL touchdown pass, a 59-yard deep ball to Laquon Treadwell at the end of the period.
When Leonard got back to the locker room, however, Anthony Richardson Sr. was waiting for him, holding a football.
At first, Leonard was confused. Eventually, he caught on.
“It didn’t even cross my mind that he had the football,” Leonard said after the game. “He hands me the ball and I had no idea what he was doing…he handed it back to me like three times and then I realized what he was doing.”
Leonard said the move “meant a lot” to him. Not everyone has a teammate who’s as considerate as this, especially after the turmoil Richardson has recently been through.
Richardson, fresh off losing the starting quarterback battle to Daniel Jones, didn’t have to keep the football for his teammate. But he did, proving that despite not having it all together on the field, he’s a high-character person off the field who’s still leading the way despite losing his job.
If he’s able to take 2025 to develop and continue improving and can finally put all the pieces in place in 2026, the Colts could wind up having the franchise quarterback they’ve been hoping Richardson can become all along.
