Colts keep Sam Ehlinger as No. 3 QB, waive undrafted rookie Jason Bean

INDIANAPOLIS — Ultimately, the Colts prefer to lean on experience at the quarterback position.

Indianapolis kept three quarterbacks on its initial 53-man roster: starting quarterback Anthony Richardson, veteran backup Joe Flacco and fourth-year quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

Ehlinger, a sixth-round pick in the 2021 draft, will likely be the Colts’ emergency quarterback once again, inactive most Sundays but eligible to serve as the team’s emergency quarterback if something happens to both Richardson and Flacco.

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A proposed NFL rule change, initially approved by team owners this offseason, initially allowed teams to keep their emergency quarterback on the practice squad, but the NFL Player’s Association vetoed that rule change at the eleventh hour.

Ehlinger has made three starts in his career, all during the 2022 season, and it was clear throughout training camp the young veteran had a stranglehold on the Colts’ No. 3 job, even though undrafted free agent Jason Bean played well in the preseason. Ehlinger was given all of the team’s No. 3 snaps in practice, played the No. 2 role in place of Flacco and offers a player with the experience to step into a game at a moment’s notice.

“Sam is a great leader in that room,” Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen said after the final preseason game. “Very smart football player, knows where to go with the football, he makes plays when he gets out there. … He battles, he scratches, he claws. Love everything about Sam.”

Bean completed 78.9% of his passes for 10.4 yards per attempt and averaging 5.3 rushing yards per carry.

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Bean was waived among the team’s roster cuts Tuesday, and will now be eligible to be claimed by the other 31 NFL teams until noon Wednesday. If he’s not claimed, Bean would be eligible to be added to the Indianapolis practice squad, where the Colts could continue to develop him.

Indianapolis initially signed Bean with the intent to convert him to wide receiver, but the way he played convinced the Colts to keep him at quarterback.

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“Explosiveness,” Steichen said about Bean’s play. “I mean, he made a ton of plays.”

Ultimately, though, in an emergency situation, the player with the experience to read NFL defenses and make plays is likely what the Colts need.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts roster cuts: Sam Ehlinger stays as No. 3 QB, Jason Bean waived