According to ESPN’s Ben Solak, the Indianapolis Colts won’t realistically regain their 2025 first half form, citing starting quarterback Daniel Jones’ uncertain health and the loss of a number of key veterans as the realistic reasons for the continued regression:
2026 outlook: Repeat of early ’25 success seems unlikely
It’s tough to expect anything close to a repeat performance from Jones in 2026, even before we consider the effect of the Achilles injury.
It’s also worth noting that the Colts endured
another offensive line departure (Braden Smith) and saw a key offensive weapon (Michael Pittman Jr.) leave the building to boot. Veteran defenders Nick Scott and Zaire Franklin both departed this offseason, leaving Day 2 rookies A.J. Haulcy and CJ Allen in line to fill their big shoes.
The sheer number of departures, along with uncertain health for Jones, makes them a tough horse to back in 2026. — Ben Solak
First and foremost, Solak makes a valid point on Jones, who Indianapolis re-signed to a 2-year contract extension worth up to a total of $100 million in earned incentives.
Having suffered the season-ending torn Achilles late in Week 14 of last year, and for a quarterback who relies a lot on his mobility for playmaking, it will be realistically surprising if he’s able to make a fully recovery in such a short period of time.
His ongoing Achilles rehab results are encouraging, but 2026 could be more of a redshirt year for him, and that may have been built into his recent contract in Indianapolis, considering it’s a two year pact for Indiana Jones.
That being said, in my opinion, he’s overstating the loss of Colts veterans outside of longtime veteran wideout Michael Pittman Jr., who did a lot of the little things that help an offense be productive and move the sticks.
Change was arguably needed at both starting linebacker by trading Zaire Franklin, as well as at right tackle by allowing veteran starter Braden Smith to depart in free agency without any reported resistance by Indianapolis.
The Colts needed to get younger and more cost-controllable at both spots. Franklin didn’t seem to be as good of a natural fit in Lou Anarumo’s defensive scheme and his play had fallen off recently, while Smith’s durability remained a major concern going forward at his higher price tag. I’m appreciative of both of their prior tenures in Indianapolis, but I think each veteran player’s production had fallen off a bit in more recent seasons for the cost.
The Colts shouldn’t lose much at all from Franklin to rookie CJ Allen and Smith to 2nd-year tackle Jalen Travis from a playing and production standpoint, although the dip in experience and veteran leadership may hurt a bit.
Nick Scott? But yes, Nick Cross is a nicer young safety in this league, who excelled at times against the run and in-the-box, but was a bit of a wild card in coverage. Rookie safety AJ Haulcy should be more of a versatile, natural fit for Anarumo’s scheme, and the hope is that it comes with a lot more pass coverage consistency in time.
Solak ultimately may land on the right conclusion, but I do disagree with a bit of his initial reasoning.
The bigger issue to me is the failure to meaningfully upgrade at edge and wide receiver along with Jones’ continued questionable 2026 health. Fingers crossed it turns out differently for the Colts, and in a good way!
