Shane Steichen hopes winner emerges from Colts' QB battle 'sooner rather than later'

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With two preseason games remaining, the highly publicized, if not pivotal camp competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones has yet to produce a leader.

Colts coach Shane Steichen hopes he finds a final answer on the matter soon.

“We’ll work through that,” Steichen said on Thursday of naming a Week 1 starter, via the team’s official site. “We had today, we got a preseason game (Saturday), 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.”

The battle encountered an unexpected twist last weekend when Richardson took a hard hit to his hand while being sacked by Baltimore’s David Ojabo, dislocating his right pinky finger and forcing him out of the remainder of the contest. Richardson was able to return to practice and avoid missing crucial reps, but neither he nor Jones has separated from the other in the race. They’ve kept practice reps about as even as possible, though Richardson’s injury robbed him of game snaps.

Jones produced a mixed bag of an outing in the 24-16 loss to the Ravens, completing 10 of 21 passes for 144 yards while reminding folks of his paradoxical existence as an NFL quarterback. With little clarity, the Colts are hoping Saturday’s game against the Packers in Indianapolis produces results tangible enough for a leader to emerge.

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In some respects, it sounds as if the quarterback competition resembles a dead heat on election night, with the race being too close to call with districts still reporting results. Like an election, both candidates — Richardson and Jones — have and will continue to tout the progress they’ve made throughout the process.

But this battle is not close because both are thriving and riding waves of support; it’s tight because neither has impressed much.

Fortunately, the outstanding results will arrive in Saturday’s meeting with the Packers and the ensuing week of practice. Hopefully, a winner emerges.

“I want to see how this thing plays out on Saturday and we’ll see early into next week and see where it goes,” Steichen said.

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