Colts Putting Faith in Daniel Jones May Be Franchise-Altering Mistake

Daniel Jones put up a fantastic season in 2025 during his debut in an Indianapolis Colts uniform. However, things slowed down after he fractured his leg, which only snowballed from there.

He'd sustain a brutal Achilles injury that put him on the sidelines for the rest of the season, ending his year at 13 games played. Despite this, the Colts wanted to keep Jones in the building.

This, of course, culminated in a two-year contract worth $88 million, with $49,490,000 guaranteed upon signing. It's a big risk, but Jones looked like the most stable QB for Indy in years.

However, there's room for criticism, and Bill Barnwell at ESPN isn't a fan, putting Jones' signing as the worst deal the Colts have executed this year. Namely, the guaranteed money for the veteran signal-caller.

"The Giants got fooled by one good year from Jones and made a franchise-altering mistake. The Colts are desperate for a solution at QB after cycling through option after option following Andrew Luck's retirement, but this deal might not afford them any sort of stability or upside."

Daniel Jones gets ready to throw the football. — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) throws the ball Wednesday, May 27, 2026, during practice at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For a quick reference, Jones was paid a huge four-year, $160 million contract by the New York Giants following his solid 2022 campaign.

He threw for 3,205 passing yards, 15 touchdowns through the air, 708 rushing yards, and seven more TDs with his feet.

He helped lead the Giants to the playoffs, where they'd secure a Wild Card win. But this version of Jones was short-lived.

The next two seasons saw Jones struggle with injuries, playing just 16 of 34 possible games. He'd also put up awful passing numbers, throwing 10 touchdowns to 13 picks and compiling an eyesore of a record at 3-13.

Barnwell's point is that the Colts might have just made a mistake similar to the one the Giants made, even if Jones' future with Indianapolis isn't clear.

With such a massive amount of dough paid out in guaranteed money, it might hamstring Indianapolis for future contract decisions that are vital to the franchise's success.

The biggest issue with Jones isn't the money, it's the long history of injuries. Jones has missed an alarming amount of games, and just sustained arguably the worst injury a football player can with his Achilles tear.

Given how brutal it's been to keep Anthony Richardson Sr. on the field, the hope for Indianapolis is that Jones can remain upright and get back to what made him a legitimate MVP candidate at one point last year.

Luckily, Jones' Achilles rehab seems to be up to speed for him to start under center for Week 1.

Does #Colts QB Daniel Jones (Achilles) expect to start in Week 1? “Absolutely.”

“Definitely still work to be done and progress to be made. So, I think it’s just continuing to get stronger, continuing to run faster, cut harder. And progress, kind of, according to the program.” pic.twitter.com/7rkLN3e5oB
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) May 27, 2026

Indianapolis is firmly resting in a do-or-die season, so Jones staying healthy and playing efficiently is the biggest factor in the team finally getting to the playoffs and possibly pushing for the AFC South crown.

Regardless of how anyone feels about what Indianapolis decided to do with Jones, he's the best player at quarterback the Colts have seen since Philip Rivers first played for the team in 2020.

Since then, it's been a dumpster fire, searching endlessly for the next consistent quarterback to stabilize the franchise and get back to greatness.

It was a very risky move by Indianapolis, but they also had no other choice with how bad Richardson has been. They also didn't have a first-round pick this year for a QB class that was quite thin outside of Fernando Mendoza.

Hopefully, for the Colts' sake, this massive decision pays off in the best way, and they can finally say they have a reliable franchise QB.

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