Colts Head Coach Gives Update on QB Daniel Jones

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- The Indianapolis Colts enter the 2026 NFL Season with a question mark at the quarterback position. This is similar to the situation the Colts have found themselves in in years past, with the punctuation mark in question equaling uncertainty.

Daniel Jones tore his right Achilles tendon in a Week 14 divisional matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, just a few weeks after it was revealed that he'd been dealing with a fractured fibula injury on his opposite leg.

Despite this setback, the Colts awarded Jones with a 2-year, $88M contract following his single-season campaign in Indianapolis, positioning him to be their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Both Colts general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen shared brief updates of Jones' road to recovery in their pre-draft press conferences to kick off draft week.

"[Daniel's] progressing really well. He's throwing, he's moving, and so he's in a really good spot," Ballard said Monday of Jones' rehab process. "Final timeline, I don't – I mean, we’re all shooting for Week 1 for sure. But we'll kind of let his body dictate. But he's in a really good place and moving along."

The biggest question surrounding Jones' situation is whether or not he'll be fully healthy for the upcoming season. That's for starters, then you have to factor in if he'll be able to return to his most recent performance level. After all, Jones has been historically injured throughout his seven years in the NFL, suffering a season-ending injury in nearly half (three times) of his seasons played.

When it comes to on-the-field performance, Jones notably rebounded in a big way in his first year under Colts head coach Shane Steichen, dealing career-highs in completion rate (68%), passer rating (100.2), and QBR (63.0) to pair with his 3,101 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, and five rushing touchdowns.

Coach Steichen is the visionary and leader of the Colts' offense, and he is proud of Jones' efforts to get healthy and reclaim that early-season magic from a season ago.

"We'll see. I know he's done a hell of a job with his rehab. He's been tirelessly working at it. He's been in [the facility] every day from 8-3 o'clock. I know he's trying to hit certain landmarks, and he's on a good path with that," Steichen said of Jones' road to recovery, via Jake Arthur.

"He's dropping back and throwing, so he's in a good spot. So we'll see how OTAs go, but anticipate him being ready for training camp."

As far as a potential expedited recovery goes, Steichen understands that Jones' road to recovery requires the utmost patience and care, but he's not ready to deem him ahead of schedule. Rather, Jones remains on the initially reported timeline that suggests training camp is the earliest that he can return to play.

"I think he's four-and-a-half months post-op," Steichen continued about Jones' rehab process. "But like I said, his rehab process has been phenomenal. You know, he went to the same doctor that [Jayson] Tatum went to. Tatum's rolling right now for the Celtics after nine months."

"I had a chance to talk to [Celtics President of Basketball Operations and Indiana native] Brad Stevens, and his rehab process that Tatum went through. [Tatum] was in that building all day, every day, and Daniel is the same way. So those guys know how to go about their business in the rehab process, and I think Daniel is doing it the right way. Him dropping back and throwing right now is pretty impressive."

As far as the position room underneath Jones goes, second-year quarterback Riley Leonard has been penciled in as the backup directly under him, as fourth-year quarterback and 2023 fourth-overall pick Anthony Richardson is away from the team while his future gets resolved -- Richardson is on the trade block after he and the Colts mutually agreed for him to seek a trade back in late February.

This open door will be a valuable experience for Leonard as he is currently slated to start Week 1 if anything pops up with Jones throughout the latter stages of his rehab. The more reps a young quarterback can get, the better. Even if that means they won't materialize into regular-season snaps, said experience is most important.

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