The Colts thought they had finally found an answer at QB. Daniel Jones was near the league leaders in most efficiency stats, he was leading the league in passing yards, and he had a strong 13 Passing TDs
paired 4 Rushing TDs against 3 INTs and just 2 Fumbles. The Colts were 7-1, in the 1 seed of the AFC, and on top the NFL world. Life was good and it was all sunshine and rainbows.
6 Weeks later, and Daniel Jones regressed, most notably against the blitz. He fights through a fractured fibula, showing some grit and toughness despite the pain. The Colts drop 3 one score games and win another in Overtime in Germany. And then on a rainy early December Sunday in Duval, Jones goes down with a non-contact Achilles tear on his other leg. Suddenly fans are watching rookie 6th Round QB Riley Leonard play meaningful snaps. The Colts fall to 8-5 and are potentially outside of the AFC Playoff field (depending on the result of the Texans-Chiefs Game).
It’s fair to feel frustrated after the emotional whiplash of this past month and a half. Unfortunately Jones’ prior issues with health and consistency have reared their ugly head and now the Colts have a tough decision to make on the horizon. Daniel Jones is a Free Agent and his recovery puts his Week 1 availability for next season in jeopardy. There is no Round 1 Draft Capital to spend for a QB in 2026-2027 due to the Sauce Gardner trade. And even if the Colts had their Round 1 pick, this isn’t a draft class with a deep group of Round 1 passers worth spending a potential back half of Round 1 pick on. Anthony Richardson is in the last year of his rookie contract in 2026 and has appeared in just 15 games due to injuries, benching, and not beating out Daniel Jones in the 2025 QB competition. What are the Colts options at QB in 2026?
Keep Daniel Jones?
At the midway point of the 2025 season, Daniel Jones was looking at a multi-year deal most likely worth $40 million to $45 million per year for 3 to for years.
Now? If the Colts still believe in Jones and are willing to be patient with his recovery, his contract will likely be much cheaper and shorter now. He was signed by the Colts as a 1 year $14 million deal prior to last season and likely gets a similar deal for another 1-2 years if the Colts choose to keep him.
Unfortunately there is a question of whether or not the Colts can bank on Daniel Jones staying healthy. He has suffered 11 different injuries in his NFL career (as well as a fractured clavicle at Duke) and missed 21 games since 2021. Whether or not he gets his prior athleticism back after his Achilles tear is another question. And of course whether or not his start to 2025 was a mirage or reality looms large.
Jones’ recovery timeline is 9-12 months, with the shorter end being close to Week 1 and the latter end being past halfway through the 2026 season.
Sign a Different QB?
The Colts could try their hand once again at the Free Agent QB market. They certainly aren’t unfamiliar with dipping into this pool, with a new signing starting significant amount of games every year since 2020 Free Agent Phillip Rivers.
Whether or not the Colts kick the tires on a former Colts starting QB is a legitimate question with so many available once again. The other options are either pursuing a 42 year old former MVP Aaron Rodgers, 37 year old former 2nd Team All Pro Russell Wilson, or former 2nd and 3rd overall picks Marcus Mariota, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, or Mitch Trubisky.
There is also the veteran QB trade market, but that is a tougher one to predict. Perhaps Mac Jones is available from the 49ers?
Kyler Murray is rumored to be on the block, but his contract is prohibitive for many teams to acquire him. The Tua Tagovailoa era in Miami might be over as well, though he also has his share of injury concerns with a length concussion history and an expensive contract to boot.
The names don’t look the most appealing at first glance, but it’s easy to forget there wasn’t much enthusiasm for the Daniel Jones signing prior to his hot start to the season. Perhaps another reclamation project with a QB surrounded by the Colts supporting cast and with Shane Steichen can work another comeback tour for a different QB?
Run It Back with Richardson?
The 2023 Colts 4th Overall Pick is entering the final year of his deal with plenty of questions remaining.
He has played in only 15 games and only 399 Dropbacks in his career, so it’s safe to say the 23 and a half year old QB has a very small sample size in the NFL. The Colts knew he was not a finished product when they drafted him, needing development in passing mechanics, decision making, processing speed in read progressions, and touch/anticipation/and ball placement, particularly on horizontal routes in short-intermediate areas. There has been some development in some of those issues, but the Colts didn’t see enough growth in those areas paired with a gap in preparation habits between Richardson and Jones that led to Jones earning the starting job in 2025.
Perhaps another offseason and season of development will bear better results for the young passer out of Florida? The flashes the Colts saw in some of his 2023-2024 games were enticing, with elite level ball velocity, deep ball placement, sack avoidance, and rushing threat to build around. There are tools to work with, and 2026 could be the last opportunity for the Colts to see what they have with Richardson before his deal expires.
But can the Colt rely on Richardson to stay on the field?
He has suffered 7 injuries in his short NFL career (along with 3 collegiate ones involving meniscus, hamstring, and a concussion). If the greatest ability is availability, sadly Richardson has not had that ability so far. As enticing as his potential may be, it is hard to justify putting all of one’s eggs in the Richardson basket in 2026 and beyond. He likely would need to compete with another QB to help the Colts have depth at the position even if he does win it.
Draft A QB on Day 2?
The Colts trade for Sauce Gardner made since at the time, with the Colts still surging and needing another top corner with Charvarius Ward still injured to help their playoff push to the 1 seed. Gardner has been one of the best Corners in the NFL since entering the NFL, being a First Team All Pro in 2 of his first 3 seasons. He was having another shutdown season with the Jets prior to the trade, potentially earning another All Pro nod.
Now Sauce is week to week with his own Achilles injury (though not on IR, suggesting he could return in either Week 15/16), the Colts are reeling, and the Round 1 picks they gave up are less likely to be in the mid to late 20s with the Colts playoff hopes gradually evaporating with each loss.
So what options do the Colts have if they want to get a QB in the 2026 Draft?
They could make a bold blockbuster trade with remaining draft capital and sending current NFL players to try to get to the top of the draft, though that would also open up holes elsewhere and hurt the Colts ability to address other needs affordably. Barring such a move, staying relatively pat on Day 2 and hoping a QB falls to them on Day 2 is a possibility.
QBs who could be available on Day 2 for the Colts:
- LaNorris Sellers out of South Carolina: Dual threat freak athlete QB needing development.
- Grant Nussmeier out of LSU: A preseason favorite for 1st Overall Pick, prototypical passing form and quick processing speed, but gunslinger tendencies have gotten him in trouble by placing the ball in harm’s way in 2025.
- Jayden Maiava out of USC: Quick release speed, nice touch, and has good reps vs pressure. Big Riser this season, but still has issues in reading the middle of the field and inconsistent mechanics.
- Carson Beck out of Miami: Experienced QB pocket passer and was at one point the favorite to go 1st Overall in the 2025 Draft. Polished motion and footwork, smooth under center dropbacks and has good IQ with the ability to layer his throws well. Issues in dealing with pressure, lot of ugly reps when pocket gets muddy.
- Cade Klubnik out of Clemson: Upper body mechanics are really smooth with a nice arm and can run when need be with some athleticism. But short height causes him to tip toe to see over line, compromising his base and hurting his ball velocity and placement.
- Drew Allar out of Penn State: Great arm talent with easy velocity on his throws. Can beat coverages and fit into tight windows when he sees the play quickly and can throw with anticipation. When his base is set properly he shows nice touch and can throw at varying speeds and layers. But mechanics are sloppy, especially in his base and they breakdown versus pressure. Field reading is questionable and he has had issues in late game clutch moment decision making, often locking on to pre-snap reads and trying to go for the splash play. Has issues in the short to intermediate throws as he doesn’t set his feet properly on quick dropbacks.
Any QB available in Round 2 of the Draft will have their warts. The question is if the Colts think any of these young QB’s issues are fixable and if their strengths can have an offense built around it. The Colts have shown the ability to have strong Offenses despite flawed QBs with this current supporting cast, so this could be a good landing spot for a young QB to have success upon entering the NFL.
In Riley Leonard We Trust?
Leonard made a sudden NFL debut against the Jaguars (outside of garbage time in a blowout victory versus the Titans), and despite it being his first NFL game had flashes of promise. His 18/29 Passing game for 145 yards, 1 INT (though it is debatable on if it was a pick), and 2 carries for 5 yards and a TD had it’s shares of ups and downs. He evaded pressure well on several plays, buying time for some nice gains by his target. He had some near picks and missed some open receivers at times too.
For a late round rookie making an unexpected first NFL appearance in a big game, Leonard did about as well as one could reasonably expect. Perhaps he shows promise in other games in 2026 with a full week as the QB1 to prep? Could put him in the competition for the Colts starting QB job at least. He does have some tools to work with his mobility, leadership, and short to intermediate effectiveness. Will see if he can develop the other areas of his game to become more than a career backup.
Are Any Of These Options… Good?
It is understandable that none of these options seem very appealing to Colts fans. They are still victims of their own success by rarely being in position to draft a QB in Round 1 and needing to get creative to find potential franchise QBs, even if they did have a Round 1 pick in a good QB draft class.
But this isn’t the 2020 or 2024 Draft Class.
Most likely the Colts have a competition again in 2026 to try to find the answer with Richardson, a recovering Jones/a veteran Free Agent signing, perhaps a Day 2 2026 Draft QB, and maybe Leonard all trying to vye for the Colts starting job. Whether or not the winner is a long-term answer is another story, but as always:
Time will tell.
