A former Duke quarterback has suddenly become one of the more intriguing names to watch before the trade deadline.
Daniel Jones, now with the Indianapolis Colts, is being mentioned as a possible surprise move as the team sorts through a rough season and a busy deadline. ESPN NFL analyst Adam Schefter raised the possibility on the Adam Schefter Podcast, noting that Jones could end up as a curveball in Indianapolis’ trade plans.
“I know we’re focused on Taylor and Downs, as we should be, and I’m not telling you that they’re trading Daniel,” Schefter said. “I’m just telling you sometimes it’s the curveball that you don’t see.”
Jones’ path has already been a strange one. The former Duke star was taken by the New York Giants with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, struggled there, then found a spark after arriving in Indianapolis last year. He helped lead the Colts to a top record before an injury cut that run short.
This season, though, the production hasn’t been there. Jones has thrown for 1,542 yards with five touchdowns and nine interceptions, and there have been calls for him to be benched. Indianapolis has stuck with him for now, saying he still gives the team the best chance to win even as the Colts sit at 2-6.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the Colts do not have their first-round pick this year after last year’s trade with the New York Jets. That makes any deadline move more interesting, especially if the front office wants future draft capital and a chance to get off Jones’ contract.
With only one game left before next week’s trade deadline, Indianapolis may also be looking at the bigger picture. Jones could be on the field as an audition for other teams, or he could be part of a move nobody saw coming.
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What stood out most was how uneven the offense looked against a team that was content to pack things in and make Duke work for every clean look. The Blue Devils struggled from three-point range, and John Blackwells quiet debut added to the sense that this was more a reminder of unfinished business than a statement win. For a roster with bigger goals, the defense was encouraging, but the attack still has to prove it can look sharper when opponents start making the game ugly. [Read more 🡒]
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For Duke, the immediate task is still the same: prepare for a conference game against an opponent trying to steady itself in the middle of a turbulent season. But Diazs comments also served as a reminder that these matchups are increasingly being shaped by more than the scoreboard, with program expectations and player availability now carrying as much weight as the coaching change itself. [Read more 🡒]
Former Blue Devil Rodney Hood Is Back Around Duke Basketball
Rodney Hood is back around Duke basketball in a new role, with Jon Scheyer confirming during a press conference that the former Blue Devil and NBA veteran has joined the program as a coaching intern. It is another notable addition to a staff that continues to blend the programs past with its present, and it gives Hood a chance to start the next phase of his basketball career inside the same environment where he once played.
Duke is coming off a home win over Army and now turns to a stretch that includes Coastal Carolina and Michigan State, so Hoods timing puts him back in the middle of a team with immediate work ahead. For a program that has always valued connections to its former players, his return adds another familiar face to the sideline as the Blue Devils keep building toward the next challenge. [Read more 🡒]