Daniel Jones enters 2026 with his NFL future hanging in the balance, and the Colts are counting on him to prove that last season’s burst was more than a flash.
The former Duke quarterback has already lived through a strange pro career. New York took him No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, banking on him as the Giants’ next franchise quarterback.
That never fully materialized. In six seasons as the starter, Jones helped the Giants reach the playoffs just once, and the team eventually moved on from him in the middle of the 2025 campaign.
Jones finished that season with the Minnesota Vikings as a backup before landing in Indianapolis in the offseason. There, he won the starting job over former No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson and immediately looked like a different player.
Through the first half of the regular season, he was playing like one of the league’s better quarterbacks, and the Colts raced to a 7-1 start. Jones threw 13 touchdowns against three interceptions during that stretch.
Then everything changed. Indianapolis dropped four of its next five games, and Jones suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a 36-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He missed the rest of the year, and the Colts faded to an 8-9 finish without a playoff berth.
Even with that setback, Jones’ first eight games in 2026 showed why Indianapolis gave him the job. He was one of the league’s most productive quarterbacks, and his play was driving wins.
But the pressure is real now. This season is about more than a hot start; it’s about whether he can hold onto the Colts’ quarterback job for the long haul.
Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame reflected that uncertainty in his preseason quarterback rankings, placing Jones at No. 22, behind Kyler Murray, Brock Purdy and CJ Stroud.
"From a current Giants quarterback to a former one, Jones is another question mark in a league full of them," Verderame said.
"Now coming off a serious injury, can Jones rediscover his early-season magic?"
The numbers from before the injury back up the case for optimism. Jones threw for 3,101 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions, completed 68.0% of his passes and posted a 63.0 QBR, which ranked eighth in the NFL.
The Colts also made a major investment in wide receiver Alec Pierce this offseason, and he figures to be Jones’ top target. With that kind of setup, there won’t be much margin for error. For Jones, 2026 feels like a defining year - maybe the one that decides whether he stays a full-time starter in the NFL.
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