At this point in the offseason, the Colts are widely expected to be in the quarterback market at the top of the draft.
Indianapolis has the No. 4 overall pick behind the Panthers, Texans, and Cardinals. So, they’re likely to have the third choice of QBs on the board — unless Arizona trades out of the third pick with a quarterback-needy team.
Regardless, the Colts signed Gardner Minshew in free agency, giving the team a viable quarterback who has experience in new head coach Shane Steichen’s offense.
Steichen, however, isn’t putting any labels on Minshew’s role in late March.
“Right now, obviously, he’s coming in to just compete and be the best he can be, you know, and that’s where we’re going,” Steichen told NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero at the annual league meeting in Arizona. “That’s where we feel he’s at right now and that’s his role right now.”
While Minshew isn’t the starter heading into the offseason program, Steichen still had plenty of praise for the QB, saying “Gardner’s awesome.”
“I got to spend the two years with him and Philly and just the way he sees the game and processes the game — it’s like a coach you know, he sees it really well,” Steichen said. “He was great. Every time he had a chance to go and play, he played well for us and obviously had a big year in Jacksonville his rookie year. Just a tremendous person, loves the game of football, loves the Xs and Os, so really fortunate to have him with us.”
Minshew appeared in nine games with four starts over the last two years with the Eagles and Steichen calling his plays. He completed 62.5 percent of his passes from 2021-2022, throwing for 1,102 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions.