Colts View Daniel Jones As Long-Term Quarterback
- Colts believe Jones is a good fit, want him back long-term
- Jones must prove he can return to pre-injury form after Achilles tear
- Colts have cap space and are willing to commit to Jones despite injury
INDIANAPOLIS – Wait, should the Colts care about contract leverage when it comes to Daniel Jones?
That doesn’t appear to be the case as Jones heads for free agency this offseason.
But Chris Ballard, speaking a little more than two months before free agency officially begins, is publicly confident about the Jones/Colts marriage continuing.
“I think it’s mutual on both sides,” the GM said. “I think Daniel was a really good fit for this organization and I think this organization and city were a really good fit for Daniel.”
As the Colts enter a free agency with more than $50 million in cap space, the quarterback conversation has turned far away from the critical third season just completed by Anthony Richardson Sr., to Jones seemingly resurrecting some things in Indy.
In the first two months of the 2025 season, an on-point/anticipating throwing Jones thrived in Shane Steichen’s system, with Jonathan Taylor running wild.
And while things started to taper off a bit as Jones fought through a fibula injury, before eventually tearing his Achilles in early December, that hasn’t dampened how the Colts are viewing their future at QB.
The guy is Jones.
And it sounds like that thought is for 2026, and beyond.
“I’m looking at him both, near and long,” Ballard says about Jones when posed with the short term/long term question. “And I think that helps us. I mean I’ve been very stated about like when you’re chasing the quarterback all the time, it makes it very hard. Like your margin for error really shrinks down. And I feel very good about Daniel Jones and where he’s at, where he’s going. Yes, he’s got the Achilles, but I think Daniel Jones has got a really bright future here in Indianapolis. And look, there is some comfort knowing that, ‘Okay, we know we’ve got a guy that’s proven, that’s done it, and done some really good things.’ So, that does give you some confidence.”
Certainly, Jones had great success with the Colts, with the pace of this market definitely suiting him much more than starting his NFL career in New York City. Following this past season, Jones expressed a desire to return to the Colts, too.
This all stems to why the Colts are so bullish Jones will be back in 2026.
A franchise tag on Jones would cost a number nearing $50 million, guaranteed. That’s quite a lot when acknowledging the Achilles injury.
Does that mean Jones could be looking at a multi-year deal from the Colts?
That seems to be the most likely path, with the Colts pretty optimistic about Jones returning around 10 months removed from his torn Achilles.
“The history of guys coming back (from torn Achilles) has been pretty good, and they’ve been older than Daniel,” Ballard says. “Daniel is 28 years old. He’s a pretty freaky talent in terms of athletic ability. So, I do feel confident that he will make it back. Will he be the version you saw right away? Maybe not, but he’s still going to be really good. I think as he goes along and plays, he’ll be fine.
“One thing I know about Daniel, he hasn’t missed anything. The second he got hurt, he gets his surgery done, comes back in the building, in every meeting. I mean, he rehabs like a wild man. So, I know this, he’s going to put every ounce of his being into being the best he can be to be ready.”
That brings two separate Jones questions for 2026.
Putting the, seemingly, unofficially agreeable contract situation to the side, Jones must answer these two questions:
-When will he return to game action, with a likely season opener around 10 months removed from tearing his Achilles in Jacksonville?
-And when will Jones return to looking like himself, one that is able to use his legs to look more like the quarterback we saw pre fibula injury, versus post?
To me, those are two different, yet vital questions in gauging how effective he can be in 2026, and how that impacts the Colts.
And while those answers can’t come until later in 2026, the first one of the future for Jones is all but settled in the eyes of those on West 56th street.
Even Carlie Irsay-Gordon has shared positive remarks on what Jones brought to the Colts in 2025.
“He knew he had something to prove, and I think he did a great job,” Irsay-Gordon said earlier this month. “He’s a great teammate, building relationships with other players. I think he gave a lot of the players on our team hope that we can.
“We’ve had a drought and we were able to really show that we’re able to execute at a high level on the field. It was promising what he was able to do.”
Indeed, it was.
Of course, given the injury history of Jones and his general career arc, betting on him as some guarantee is no sure thing.
But the Colts recent track record at quarterback doesn’t allow for much nitpicking.
And they aren’t hiding from sharing that.
