INDIANAPOLIS — The open competition at the Indianapolis Colts’ most consequential position remains open.
After 14 practices, including joint sessions with Baltimore and Green Bay, and a preseason game with the Ravens, Coach Shane Steichen, general manager Chris Ballard and their support staff still are mulling over every bit of information.
Anthony Richardson Sr.?
Or, Daniel Jones?
It seems as if the Colts are no closer on Thursday than when training camp opened July 23.
“We’ll work through that,’’ Steichen said. “We had today, we got a preseason game (Saturday against the Packers), we have some practices next week and we’ll work through that.
“I don’t have an exact timetable on it, but sooner rather than later would be nice.’’
With the Sept. 7 season opener against Miami at Lucas Oil Stadium looming, the Colts seem to be well past “sooner.’’
The plan for Saturday’s preseason game is for Jones to start and play a couple of series, then turn the offense over to Richardson, who’ll finish the first half. Richardson’s preseason debut at Baltimore was limited to seven snaps when he suffered a dislocated right pinky finger.
At some point, a decision must be made. The Colts, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns are the only teams that haven’t settled on a starting quarterback.
The uncertainty isn’t ideal.
“Obviously, we’d love to go into it with, ‘Hey, we’ve got Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes,’’’ assistant general manager Ed Dodds said. “But that’s not life.
“It’s competition. It’s going to bring out the best in both of them.’’
When the time comes to make the decision, Steichen will confer with Ballard and owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon. The ultimate decision rests with Steichen.
“Obviously, it’s a big decision that’s got to be made,’’ he said. “We’ll work through it here soon.’’
Jones, the No. 6 pick in 2019, is trying to start Phase 2 of his career after being discarded by the New York Giants. His preference is knowing where he stands in the open competition.
“I think that’s natural,’’ he said. “In this position, I think you are aware of it and thinking about it.
“But the best strategy for me and for anyone in this situation is kind of focus as much as you can on what you need to do to grow and continue to improve.’’
Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in 2024, is as clueless as Jones as to the pecking order at quarterback.
“I mean, they still haven’t said who is the quarterback yet, so pretty much it still is up in the air,’’ he said. “I’m just trying to do my job and do everything I can to help myself win this job.
“And then, anything the team needs from me, I’m pretty much open and available to help them out in any sort of way.’’
Richardson’s third camp with the Colts arguably has been his best, albeit with occasional streaks of inconsistency. He’s completed roughly 60% of his passes in 11-on-11 sessions and shown a better touch on short and intermediate passes.
Has he achieved the objectives he set for himself before camp opened?
“Yeah . . . no,’’ Richardson said with a smile. “I’d say 50-50. I feel like I’m still trying to solidify myself in this offense. I’m still trying to win the job, obviously. I’m just trying to grow.
“There’s still a lot of room for improvement. I’m nowhere near where I want to be. I still have to be a better quarterback for this team.’’
Disjointed joint session
Thursday’s joint work with the Packers began and ended well for the Colts’ offense. The problem was everything in between.
During individual drills, AD Mitchell, Michael Pittman Jr. and the other receivers more than held their own. But during 11-on-11 work, the offense struggled because the o-line either had trouble dealing with Green Bay’s defensive front or handling its own business.
There were too many pre-snap penalties, including false starts and illegal formations.
“That just comes down to focus,’’ Steichen said. “We’ve got to get that cleaned up.’’
The Packers might have piled up eight or nine sacks during the two-hour practice. Twice, low shotgun snaps to Jones sabotaged plays. There were three interceptions.
Richardson and the No. 1 offense saved their best for last.
With 1:12 on the clock and possession at his own 40, Richardson completed a pair of passes to Pittman and rookie tight end Tyler Warren that gained roughly 20 yards each.
On a third-and-goal situation from inside the 5, Jonathan Taylor appeared to reach the end zone. The officials disagreed, so on fourth-and-goal, Richardson rolled right and hit Pittman for a TD.
Jones wasn’t as efficient in the same situation. After short completions to Will Mallory and Ashton Dulin, he suffered an interception.
Charting QBs
The penalties and constant pressure from the Packers made it difficult to accurately chart Richardson and Jones. One play, Richardson was flushed to his left and hit Pittman in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, but the play might have been whistled deep either because of a sack – QBs still are off limits to contact – or a penalty.
In the afternoon, Richardson was 10-of-22 with (perhaps) two TDs and an interception while Jones was 14-of-20 with two interceptions.
Updating Mitchell
After standing out in the individual work, AD Mitchell had an interesting afternoon. He had several receptions but suffered bad plays on consecutive snaps.
First, a pass from Jones went through his hands and was intercepted by cornerback Keisean Nixon. On the next play, Mitchell gathered in a pass over the middle, but a defensive back pried the football out of his hands as he was going to the ground for a fumble.
“Obviously, some plays he’d probably want to have back,’’ Steichen said. “We’ve got to hang onto the football.’’
Updating the kickers
Spencer Shrader essentially has won the kicking job and converted 3-of-4 field-goal attempts on Thursday. The good news: he drilled a 64-yarder. The bad news: he pushed a 33-yarder wide right. In between, Shrader converted from 39 and 45.
Rookie Maddux Trujillo was 4-for-4 on the same attempts.
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.