The Indianapolis Colts have released quarterback Easton Stick as they trimmed the roster to the NFL’s 53-player limit, ending a brief and unsurprising stay in Indianapolis.
Stick signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract on June 1 after the Colts needed extra veteran depth. He arrived as the fourth quarterback behind Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson, and 2025 draft pick Riley Leonard.
Jones is expected to start if healthy; Richardson’s future remains unsettled after an offseason trade request that produced no deal. Stick never climbed the depth chart.
His only preseason work came in the second half of the finale, when he completed 8 of 15 passes for 78 yards.
The move carries no dead-cap cost. None of Stick’s 2026 compensation was guaranteed, so Indianapolis saves his roughly $1.08 million cap charge. The Colts also terminated several other veteran contracts and waived a long list of players the same day.
For Los Angeles Chargers fans, the news lands with a familiar ache. Stick spent six seasons in Los Angeles after the team selected him in the fifth round (166th overall) out of North Dakota State in 2019.
He was never going to unseat Justin Herbert, but he became a quiet favorite: reliable in the meeting room, mobile enough to extend plays, and the man who stepped in when Herbert’s finger injury ended the 2023 season.
Stick started the final four games that year, completing 63.8 percent of his passes for 1,129 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
The Chargers went 0-4, yet the organization later posted an official “Easton Stick appreciation” video, and many supporters still remember the former FCS champion as a good soldier who simply never got a clean chance.
After Los Angeles, Stick spent 2025 with the Atlanta Falcons on the practice squad and active roster without appearing in a regular-season game.
The Colts reunion with head coach Shane Steichen—who coached him as a Chargers quarterback coach and coordinator—looked like a logical next stop. It lasted three months.
Stick’s career numbers remain modest: six games, four starts, 1,133 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. At 30, he is again a free agent looking for a practice-squad or emergency-backup job.
Teams that value a veteran who already knows an NFL playbook and can run when needed may still have a use for him. Indianapolis simply decided three quarterbacks were enough.
