The Colts were presented with a challenging decision in regards to Daniel Jones’ contract in 2026.
On the surface signing him back was a no-brainer. He led the Colts to one of the most prolific offensive starts we’ve seen in quite some time. He commanded the huddle and was finally someone Shane Steichen felt like he could trust.
More importantly the alternatives to having someone else were scarce. Were you going to go back to Anthony Richardson, the QB the staff had essentially given up on? No. Were you going to insert
yourself in the Kyler Murray or Kirk Cousins sweepstakes, and ride the QB carousel yet again? No. Were you going to draft a QB without a first round pick with plenty of other needs on the roster? No. So Daniel Jones had leverage in the situation.
But there also is an elephant in the room.
Daniel Jones has unfortunately struggled to remain healthy… and just tore his achilles which ended eventually the Colts’ season as well. So there was obviously a lot to think through.
The Colts eventually landed on a two year deal that I think was fair for all involved.
To boil it down gives the Colts the length they desired with the compensation that Jones’ desired.
So what now? What can we expect?
It goes without saying this is a prove-it year for Daniel Jones. Not that he hasn’t proved he can be successful with the Colts, he’s already proven that. Instead that he can prove that the beginning of the 2025 season wasn’t just a flash in the pan.
This play from Daniel Jones first start with the Colts always stands out to me because it shows something the Colts have been lacking at the position for a long time.. true command of the huddle.
Watch him ID the pressure with a hard count and then flip the protection while getting Down on a out breaking hot route to move the sticks.
And it wasn’t just one play either.
Daniel Jones worst enemy in New York was undoubtedly pressure. Teams blitzed him like crazy for that reason. That was until he developed real trust.
Trust with his offensive line to block it, trust with his wide receivers to punish it, and trust with his play caller to give him the answers for it.
Anthony Weaver and Vance Joseph (the Colts first two opponents to start the year) blitzed Jones like crazy.. and they paid the price.
It was surgical, methodical, and downright frustrating for defenses that thought they could roll out the blueprint that had been used ever since Daniel Jones got into the league.
But it wasn’t until Jeff Ulbirch threw the kitchen sink at the Colts in Germany that the trend unraveled a bit. Jones inability to move in the pocket made it harder to trust the things he was so used to trusting.. after all he was playing through injury trying to protect himself on every drop back.
So the question becomes.. will that continue?
Daniel Jones wasn’t just demonstrating trust with his ability to combat pressure, he was also demonstrating his ability to diagnose pre and post snap pictures and throw on time with confidence.
Colts are running a very popular route combination in their offense: a crosser and an in-cut. When Daniel Jones sees that the buzz defender is going clog up the initial crosser by Downs, he knows he can keep him in that spot and rip the in-cut coming behind it from Pierce.
He puts this ball in the perfect spot at the perfect time… while knowing he’s about to take a massive hit in a crucial spot in the game.
Those were the early successes. The ones the Colts need to see continue. But it be disingenuous to not talk about the failures. We’ve already talked about Jones’ struggle to stay healthy, but we didn’t talk about the spike in turnovers.
Around the bye week you could start to feel Jones stray from the fundamentals that had given him so much success in the early part of the season. He didn’t have an interception problem, but rather a fumbling problem. The Colts offense was moving so efficiently, that Jones really wasn’t used to having to sacrifice negative plays.
Outside of the inability to diagnose pressure, his time in New York was also colored by Jones ability to make a bad play worse— and that made its way to Indianapolis. The Falcons and the Steelers showed that.
Interceptions are going to happen, fumbles might too, but it can’t become a habit.
So what does the future look like? While this is undoubtedly a make-or-break year for the Colts, I’m not sure I’m evaluating Daniel Jones on wins and losses. I know that sounds odd, and I’m sure Colts fans—who are more than justified in wanting their team to win games and make the playoffs—probably hate that I typed that out.
So let me explain.
Chris Ballard needs to make the playoffs. He decided to trade for Sauce Gardner at the deadline for two first round picks and a young receiver who could make the current depth chart feel a bit deeper at the moment.
Shane Steichen needs to make the playoffs. He’s heading into his fourth year with nothing but mediocre results. There’s context to those results, but eventually time outweighs context. It’s time for Shane Steichen to coach a complete season— not just shows small sample sizes of brilliance.
While Daniel Jones is the QB of this football team and absolutely is tied to both Chris Ballard’s and Shane Steichen’s job status, I don’t necessarily view 2026 as a make-or-break year for Jones in that way.
If Daniel Jones plays an entire season and has a universally great year but the defense is so bad that the Colts still can’t get over the hump, is the new regime (if there is one) going to sprint to find a new answer at QB? I don’t think so.
But if the Colts sneak into a wildcard spot and Daniel Jones shows regression— or even another injury— the picture then changes.
Ultimately, when you’re the quarterback of a team that has not lived up to its potential, you’re directly tied to the team’s performance. But Daniel Jones is an odd case—a quarterback trying to prove that he can be the reason the Colts finally end their nearly decade-long ride on the quarterback carousel.
