Daniel Jones has spent plenty of his career trying to shake the turnover label. Right now, he’s dragging it with him in Indianapolis.
The Colts saw enough last season to believe they had something special. Through the first part of the year, they were 7-1 and the offense was humming at historic levels.
Jones earned credit for that stretch. But the bottom fell out by midseason, and the ball security issues that surfaced then have carried straight into this year.
Through three games, Jones has already turned it over five times, with three interceptions and two fumbles. That comes after he coughed it up eight times in five games last season before the injury bug shut him down.
The broken fibula explanation only went so far anyway. He did play through that injury, and then his season ended with a torn Achilles tendon.
This isn’t a brand-new problem, either. Jones fumbled 19 times as a rookie in 2019, most in the league, and lost 11 of them.
He fumbled 10 times in his second season as well. The bigger issue has always been how he handles pressure.
Defenses have learned they can get a hand on the ball when he’s under duress, and that’s been a stubborn flaw over seven-plus seasons.
The interceptions are piling up too. Jones has thrown one in every game this season, and his interception percentage sits at 3.1, the second-highest mark of his career.
He’s never been a quarterback who lives in the pick-six danger zone every week, so a clean stretch could still come. But that hasn’t happened yet, and the Colts can’t keep waiting around for it.
His 80.8 quarterback rating tells the same story. It’s much closer to his career norm than last season’s 100.2 mark, and Indianapolis is the team that handed him the contract expecting something closer to that version. Jones signed a two-year deal worth as much as $88 million this offseason, though the Colts do have an out after this year.
The financial numbers make the situation even more uncomfortable. His cap hit rises from $19.18 million this season to $46.8 million in 2027. If Indianapolis moves on before next year, it would save $38 million.
There’s still time for Jones to turn things around, starting with Week 4 against a Washington Commanders defense that has been terrible against the pass. That game could give him a chance to stack up numbers fast, even four touchdowns and no interceptions if everything breaks right. After that, the schedule softens again with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans.
But the margin is shrinking. Indianapolis is paying for the version of Jones it saw in the first half of 2025, and it has not gotten that quarterback through three games. If the slide keeps going, the Colts may be forced to start thinking about a different QB1 for next season.
In Other News...
Colts London Game Is Turning Into A Fan Frustration Story
The NFLs London trip is already creating a headache for Colts fans who moved quickly to lock in seats for the matchup with Washington at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. With demand coming in softer than expected, the league has slashed prices on some tickets, and seats that were listed as high as $325 have fallen to about $105, leaving early buyers wondering why they paid so much more.
For Indianapolis followers making the overseas commitment, it turns what should have been a special event into a source of frustration before the game even kicks off. The league still has three London games on the schedule this October, but the pricing shift has raised new questions about how strongly fans are buying into the international series and how much goodwill takes a hit when ticket values move so sharply. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Still Face An Anthony Richardson Decision No Team Has Solved
The Giants quarterback scramble has already taken another turn, with Jaxson Dart now set to miss the rest of the regular season after knee surgery. New York moved to shore up its depth by dealing a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Vikings for J.J. McCarthy, a reminder of how quickly teams can pivot when the position gets unsettled, and how few obvious fixes are actually available once the market tightens.
For the Colts, the bigger picture around Anthony Richardson Sr. still looks unresolved. Richardson asked for a trade earlier this year, but no team has reportedly pushed hard to land him, and Indianapolis remains in the familiar spot of holding a talented backup while weighing a future no one else has been eager to define for them. With the Giants opting in another direction, it is one more sign that the leagues quarterback carousel has spun without offering Indianapolis a clean solution. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Injury Report Raises New Questions Before Washington Trip
The Colts opened the week with a familiar mix of routine maintenance and a little unease as they prepared for a Week 4 trip to face the Washington Commanders. Tight end Mo Alie-Cox was out with an illness, wide receiver Keenan Allen was limited by a groin issue, and defensive tackle Grover Stewart sat out for a scheduled rest day, while Jonathan Taylor and Charvarius Ward were back as full participants after getting previous rest.
There was also some good news in the form of linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither and wide receiver Ashton Dulin, who both fully practiced. Still, any early-week injury report tends to draw extra attention this time of year, and the Colts will be watching closely to see whether Allens status settles quickly or leaves another question hanging as the Washington game gets closer. [Read more 🡒]