The Indianapolis Colts are in a tough spot with Anthony Richardson heading into year three. After a difficult 2024 campaign that saw Richardson struggle badly as a passer and with turnovers, Chris Ballard felt the need to press the youngster with a field general who has a chance to get back into starting graces.
It became clear that a name like Sam Darnold would signify that Richardson was done in Indianapolis, so the Colts went the safer route by signing Daniel Jones. While Jones hasn’t been fantastic to this point, he’s still hungry to start again after 70 games, leading the offense as the prominent QB for the New York Giants.
But not everyone in the NFL world thinks this is the best addition. CBS Sports cooked Jones but labeled him as a ‘winner’ for continuing to snag contracts despite not playing the best. Garrett Podell put Jones in a blender in his recent article detailing who are ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in free agency.
“Despite the on-field issues and the New York Giants eating a $22 million dead cap hit in 2025 for releasing him midseason in 2024, Jones still landed a one-year, $14 million contract with $13.15 million fully guaranteed from the Indianapolis Colts to compete with Anthony Richardson,” Podell said. “Nothing Jones has done on the field is worth over $13 million guaranteed, but he and his agent stay winning.”
Harsh, but fair words. Jones’ career is marred by inconsistency, turnovers, and losing records; his last two seasons are especially concerning. While the Giants didn’t exactly surround Jones with the utmost talent minus Saquon Barkley, he still did nearly nothing impactful through 70 games.
Throughout his career, he has 70 touchdown passes to 47 picks and 14,582 passing yards. He’s also put up a completion percentage of 64.1. Along with his 47 interceptions, Jones has a whopping 50 fumbles. While Jones has taken a lot of sacks due to poor offensive line play and holding onto the football, the metrics don’t lie; Jones is a shaky field general.
Back to 2023 and 2024, he’s compiled a miserable record of 3-13, plus 10 touchdown passes to 13 interceptions. If Jones does get to start for the Colts, it likely means one of two things (or both): Richardson has continued to struggle and regress, or he’s injured, meaning Jones steps into the fray to spot-start only.
Unless Jones has a career resurgence of the ages, similar to Darnold in 2024, he isn’t going to beat out Richardson for the gig. It’s not to shake down Jones and say he can’t make that happen, it just isn’t likely simply because he has more weapons and a steadier offensive line.
Anything can happen with this QB competition in Indianapolis, but the realistic outcome seems to be that Jones is a backup going forward. Unless there’s a drastic shift in the assumed narrative, expect Richardson to take over as the undisputed starter.
However, there is a slim chance that Jones will rise to the occasion while Richardson can’t put it together in 2025 to start for Shane Steichen’s offense. This competition will be one to keep an eye on as the offseason rolls along and approaches the preseason and regular campaign.