While former Notre Dame football quarterback Riley Leonard was never really in the running for the starting job with the Indianapolis Colts, it does look like the ex-Fighting Irish signal caller's job in the pros is safe as his final preseason game of the year should cement him as the club's No. 3 quarterback.
Leonard saw his most extensive action of camp in the Colts' third preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. While the former Notre Dame QB was going against other bench warmers just trying to make 53-man rosters or practice squads, he was still quite impressive. His performance included a 59-yard touchdown pass that plenty of Irish supporters looked quite a bit like a pass he threw last year against Northern Illinois that was intercepted. This time around, it was a perfect throw that went for a score.
Ex-Notre Dame football star Riley Leonard shines in final preseason game
The performance by the former Notre Dame star was so good that, rather than really needing to worry about the score in the 41-14 win, Leonard was reminded by teammate Anthony Richardson to go and make sure he kept one special football.
Riley Leonard's first preseason TD!
— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2025
He goes 59 yards to Laquon Treadwell 🎯
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/dI4RhVt5kc
"It didn't even cross my mind to keep the football," Leonard said after the game. "Got back to the locker room at halftime and Ant comes up to me and hands me the ball. I had no idea what he was doing. I was like 'that's a nice football.' He didn't say anything and I was like 'nice.' Then he just handed it back to me like three times, and after I realized what he was doing. Shoutout to him, that meant a lot to me. It's my dad's birthday too, so I'm going to give it to him."
It seems likely that the other present the ex-Notre Dame football star can give his father is the news that he's officially made the Indianapolis Colts' 53-man roster. That news might not come formally for another week, but it is a foregone conclusion at this point.