Since the shocking retirement of franchise quarterback Andrew Luck before the 2019 season, it's been a revolving door at the most important position for the Indianapolis Colts — a revolving door that has spun completely off its hinges.
The franchise, which once boasted nearly two decades of stability with Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and Luck, has since cycled through an astonishing eleven different starting quarterbacks in just six seasons, including veteran stopgaps like Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan. In 2025, the Colys appeared to finally find their answer in veteran Daniel Jones, who was in the midst of a remarkable MVP-caliber run that had led the team to an AFC contender status. However, Jones' season, and potentially his future in Indianapolis, just came to a brutal halt with a torn Achilles tendon.
Next up for the Colts is Philip Rivers. With Jones out and Richardson unavailable, the Colts worked out the 44-year-old, retired Philip Rivers in a desperate Hail Mary attempt to salvage their season. This current predicament — going from a legitimate Super Bowl contender led by a rejuvenated quarterback to begging a three-year retiree to suit up — perfectly encapsulates the cursed, unstable reality of life after Andrew Luck, and the most recent injury ensures the chaos will continue.
Here's the Colts' quarterback timeline since Luck's franchise-altering retirement.
MORE: Why the Colts are signing 44-year-old Philip Rivers
Colts timeline of starting QBs
2019
- Jacoby Brissett (15 starts)
- Bryan Hoyer (1 start)
Brissett was set to be the Colts' backup quarterback heading into the 2019 season, but was propelled into the starting position after Luck's retirement. This was announced two weeks before the regular season started; general manager Chris Ballard shortly confirmed that Brissett would be the team's full-time starter, and he was extended before the season started.
He finished the season with 2,942 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions to go along with 228 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in 15 starts.
Hoyer appeared in four games, making one start for the team. He had 372 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.
2020
- Philip Rivers (16 starts)
Rivers joined the Colts for the 2020 season on a one-year, $25 million contract, demoting Brissett to the backup position. The veteran quarterback, who had played his entire career with the Chargers franchise, reunited with Colts head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni, both of whom he had worked with in San Diego.
Rivers played all 16 regular-season games, demonstrating his trademark durability and leading the Colts to a strong 11-5 record and their first playoff berth since 2018. He finished the season with productive numbers, compiling 4,169 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and a solid 68.0% completion rate with 11 interceptions, providing the stable, high-volume passing attack the team was seeking.
The Colts secured a Wild Card spot, but Rivers' final NFL game was a hard-fought 27-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round, where the veteran threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns. Rivers announced his retirement shortly after the season.
MORE: Inside Philip Rivers' extensive family tree
2021
- Carson Wentz (17 starts)
After Rivers retired, the Colts once again had a gaping hole at quarterback. They opted to solve it with the Wentz reclamation project.
Indianapolis traded a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick (which became a first-rounder) to the Philadelphia Eagles for Wentz in February 2021, reuniting him with Reich, his former offensive coordinator. The hope was that Reich could restore the former MVP candidate to his 2017 form. Wentz started all 17 games of the 2021 season, posting solid counting statistics: 3,563 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and a career-low 7 interceptions, leading the team to a 9-8 record. The season was highlighted by the emergence of Jonathan Taylor, who led the league in rushing.
However, the Wentz era ultimately ended in dramatic failure after just one season. Despite controlling their destiny for a playoff spot with two games remaining, the Colts lost to the Las Vegas Raiders and, in an infamous Week 18 collapse, fell to the previously one-win Jacksonville Jaguars 26-11. Frustrated with the disappointing end and a feeling that Wentz was not the long-term answer, the Colts traded him to the Washington Commanders in March 2022.
2022
- Matt Ryan (12 starts)
- Sam Ehlinger (3 starts)
- Nick Foles (2 starts)
With Wentz gone, the Colts made another bold veteran swing, trading a 2022 third-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for former MVP Matt Ryan. Ryan, who was 37 at the time, was expected to provide the consistent, mistake-averse passing the team lacked, but his single season in Indianapolis was instead characterized by historic levels of instability and poor performance.
Ryan's 2022 campaign quickly became a disaster, culminating in him being benched twice during the season. Over his 12 starts, Ryan threw for 3,057 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, finishing with a career-low passer rating of 83.9. More troubling than the statistics was the alarming number of turnovers (including a league-leading 13 interceptions). He was 4-7-1 as a starter.
The tumultuous 2022 season for the Colts became so volatile that both Ryan and the entire coaching staff were replaced by the end of the year, forcing the team to cycle through two other quarterbacks: homegrown product Sam Ehlinger and former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. Ehlinger, a 2021 sixth-round pick, was given three starts mid-season, largely to appease General Manager Chris Ballard's desire to see the young QB's potential. In those appearances, Ehlinger completed 63.4% of his passes for 573 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions, managing a 76.1 passer rating.
However, after the firing of coach Frank Reich, interim coach Jeff Saturday returned to Ryan, only to bench him again late in the year for the experienced Foles. Foles' brief tenure was a disaster, resulting in two blowout losses and a historically low 34.3 passer rating while throwing zero touchdowns against four interceptions in his two starts, perfectly illustrating the depth of the quarterback crisis that season.
2023
- Anthony Richardson (4 starts)
- Gardner Minshew (13 starts)
The Colts began the 2023 season with their promising rookie quarterback Richardson, who was selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Though it started out well, with Richardson showcasing his dynamic rushing ability and incredible arm strength by scoring seven total touchdowns (four rushing, three passing) in his first four games, the injury curse that plagued the franchise quickly struck again.
Richardson’s rookie season was violently derailed by two separate injuries in his limited action, culminating in a season-ending shoulder surgery in Week 5. The promising glimpse of the future — highlighted by his 5.4 yards per carry and a 59.5% completion rate — was suddenly cut short, leaving the team with yet another mid-season scramble at the position.
In his place, Minshew started the rest of the season for Indianapolis. He put up decent stats, with a completion percentage over 62%, 3,305 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Colts were able to make it to the final week of the season, with a win-and-in game against the Houston Texans. But, Houston got the win in Indianapolis and claimed the final playoff spot.
MORE: How Daniel Jones' Achilles injury hurts Colts' AFC playoff chances
2024
- Anthony Richardson (11 starts)
- Joe Flacco (6 starts)
The 2024 season was defined by the Colts' commitment to developing Richardson while simultaneously being forced to rely on a proven veteran due to his physical fragility. Richardson opened the year as the starter, and while he displayed tantalizing flashes of his dual-threat potential, his season was marred by a series of physical issues, including an oblique injury that cost him time early and inconsistent play that led to a mid-season benching after a loss to the Texans in Week 8.
In his 11 starts, Richardson threw for 1,814 yards with an unacceptably low 47.7% completion rate, logging 8 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, alongside 499 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. The team went 6-5 with him at the helm, but the constant turnovers and inability to stay on the field raised serious questions about his durability and readiness.
Richardson's brief exile from the starting role saw the Colts turn to veteran Joe Flacco, who had been signed to provide experienced backup insurance. Flacco initially provided a spark, but his time as the primary starter was inconsistent, highlighted by a dominant performance against the Jaguars followed by several poor outings. In his 6 starts, Flacco passed for 1,761 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, operating with a much higher 65.3% completion rate than Richardson. However, the Colts struggled to win consistently with the 39-year-old, going 3-5 in his games.
Despite the veteran's stability, coach Shane Steichen eventually reinstated Richardson for the stretch run, only for the young quarterback to suffer a back injury, forcing him to miss the final two games of the season and highlighting the unending cycle of quarterback chaos that has plagued the franchise.
MORE: Why did Daniel Jones leave the Giants for the Colts?
2025
- Daniel Jones (13 starts)
- Philip Rivers
- Riley Leonard
- Anthony Richardson
The 2025 season has to be the most devastating for the Colts since Luck's retirement, and it's not particularly close.
This season, the Colts finally broke the cycle, with Daniel Jones — who signed with the Colts in the 2025 offseason — transforming his career to deliver MVP-caliber play. Jones, signed to a one-year deal, had the team sitting at a phenomenal 8-2 record and contending for the AFC's top seed, putting up career-best numbers with a 68.0% completion rate and a 100.2 passer rating. This success not only validated the roster built by Chris Ballard but also provided the stability necessary for a deep playoff run; Indianapolis even made a home-run swing at the trade deadline, trading two first-round picks to the New York Jets for two-time All-Pro Sauce Gardner.
However, the dream evaporated in Week 14 when Jones, already playing through a fractured fibula in his left leg, went down with a season-ending torn Achilles in his right leg, an injury that doesn't just end the 2025 campaign but plunges the entire organization into long-term quarterback uncertainty, as Jones faces a grueling rehabilitation ahead of free agency. For the Colts, it is a backbreaking blow not only this season, but for years to come.
With Jones out for the rest of the season and the quarterback room thin, with only rookie Riley Leonard healthy at the moment, the Colts have lured Rivers out of retirement and signed the 44-year-old to the practice squad. It's yet to be known when he will make his first appearance.
MORE: Where Colts QB room stands after Daniel Jones' injury