INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts are currently set with their starting quarterback for 2020 with veteran Philip Rivers. They’re also set at backup quarterback with Jacoby Brissett, the former starter.

But what the future holds for 2021 and beyond is anybody’s guess. That’s because Rivers and Brissett will be free agents next offseason.

“I wish I had a crystal ball to be able to rub it and tell you what we’re going to look like a year from now [at quarterback],” general manager Chris Ballard said. “I’m just trying to get through the next week here to get through the draft."

The Colts have to find their quarterback of the future at some point, because Rivers is 38 and has only so many years left to play. He has not shut the door on playing beyond 2020, but it likely won’t be with the Colts if he struggles. Brissett would still be the starter if the team believed he was good enough to be in that role.

The Colts currently have seven picks in next week’s NFL draft. They could select a quarterback and have him sit and learn behind Rivers next season and possibly be ready to start in 2021.

Or maybe not.

“You can’t force the quarterback position, especially in the draft,” Ballard said. “I think history has shown that. It’s got to be the right guy, the right fit for us and for our staff and for our organization. So I don’t know when that’s going to happen -- maybe this year, maybe next year, maybe two years from now. I don’t know. When we decide to take one up that we think is going to be the future guy of this franchise, you’ve got to be right.”

Selecting a quarterback in the first round isn’t an option at this point because the Colts currently don’t have a pick in the opening round after they dealt the No. 13 pick to the San Francisco 49ers for defensive lineman DeForest Buckner last month. Ballard called it an "easy decision" to give up the pick for a player of Buckner’s caliber.

“Just watch the Super Bowl,” Ballard said. “That guy played his ass off. He was disruptive the entire game.”

The Colts were able to trade the first-round pick for Buckner because they knew they were getting Rivers, who spent the first 16 years of his NFL career with the Chargers, in free agency. Signing Rivers didn't fit the mold of the free agents Ballard has signed since he became general manager in 2017. Ballard routinely targets younger players in their prime or ones who haven’t reached their peak yet.

Rivers is neither.

“I think the quarterback position is a little bit different than the rest of them,” Ballard said. “I think this situation was a little bit unique. It’s not like it financially hurts us going long term. Because it is the quarterback position and because of his stature, it just made it a unique opportunity. ... You have a potential Hall of Fame quarterback hit the market that has a history with both our head coach and our offensive coordinator.

“So we’re fortunate to have both these guys on the roster at the same time. As we go forward, we’ll figure out what we need to do at the position. But for now we feel pretty good about the position.”