Ryan Lindley to Colts: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

The Indianapolis Colts are so beleaguered at quarterback that they’ve signed two on Tuesday, bringing in Ryan Lindley after adding Josh Freeman earlier.

The Colts have lost three incumbent quarterbacks this season.   

Pro Bowl starter Andrew Luck has been sidelined with a lacerated kidney and an abdominal tear since Week 9. Then backup Matt Hasselbeck suffered a sprained AC join in Week 16, and third-stringer Charlie Whitehurst was placed on injured reserve with a pulled hamstring.

Lindley spent the first three seasons of his career as a backup with the Arizona Cardinals and started four games in 2014, including the team’s NFC Wild Card loss to the Carolina Panthers in January, after Carson Palmer went down with a season-ending injury.

Lindley competed the 2015 preseason with the New England Patriots but was cut when a judge overturned Tom Brady’s four-game Deflategate suspension.

The Colts signed quarterback Stephen Morris last Thursday from the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad to help weather attrition, though they probably did so merely for depth purposes—Indianapolis hadn't lost Hasselbeck and Whitehurst yet, and Morris has never played a regular-season snap.

Which quarterback Indy starts on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans remains to be seen, though one of the two new signees would seem more likely given their prior experience.

Head coach Chuck Pagano was unsure of his plan during Monday’s press conference, which was after Freeman's signing but before Lindley’s, per Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star:

"

I don’t know. We’ll see how the week goes. If we go down that road, we’ll have to prepare both guys obviously. Decide who gets the lion’s share of the reps and then I’ll be able to give you more information because we haven’t done anything to this point so I can’t give you a logical answer yet.

"

The Colts entered the season among the Super Bowl favorites after reaching the playoffs in each of the last three seasons behind an offense that was the league’s best in 2014.

Regardless of who starts Sunday, the Colts will likely be putting their narrow playoff hopes in one of three quarterbacks who probably had zero expectations of starting this season a week ago.