Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Riley Leonard will make his first NFL start Sunday against the Houston Texans, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
He replaces Philip Rivers, who held the starting position for the last three games after coming out of retirement to help out the Colts.
In those three games, the 44-year-old quarterback had 544 air yards and four touchdowns against three interceptions. 1,800 days passed between Rivers’ last touchdown pass in 2021 and his first in 2025.
With Daniel Jones’ ruptured Achilles tendon, freshman Riley Leonard, who led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to an NCAA Finals appearance in 2024, will have the opportunity to show what he’s got against one of the NFL’s fiercest defenses.
So far this season, Leonard has completed 18 of 33 passes for 144 yards and has two interceptions.
The Colts started the year with a 7-1 record, and have since lost seven of their last eight games. Indianapolis thus misses the playoffs after having had a 95% chance of participating at a certain point in the season.
