Daniel Jones is back in the building, and the early signs are encouraging.
That’s the headline out of Indianapolis, where the Colts’ quarterback is working through a comeback after a brutal stretch that wiped out the end of last season. Jones played through a broken left fibula after the team’s Week 11 bye, then later tore his right Achilles tendon.
Now 29, he’s back on the field, and the reporting around his return says he looks far removed from the injury to anyone watching him casually at practice. Jonathan Jones also noted that he’s shown command of the offense.
There is, though, one piece that still isn’t all the way back: the speed. Before the injury, Jones’ fastest in-game run hit 21.23 mph.
This summer, Jones said he’s gotten to 19.7 mph. Even with that difference, the expectation is that he can build on what was already a strong season.
And it’s worth remembering just how good that Colts team was before everything went sideways. Entering that Week 11 bye, Indianapolis was 8-2 and tied with the Patriots and Broncos for the league’s best record.
The only losses came against the Rams and Steelers, both one-score games despite nine combined turnovers. The offense was humming at 32.1 points and 396.9 yards per game, best in the league, and it wasn’t just piling up numbers against weak competition.
Indianapolis dropped 38 on the Chargers, who had a top-10 scoring defense.
The roster around Jones has changed too. The Colts added Sauce Gardner at cornerback, and on Friday night they brought in Keenan Allen on a one-year deal.
The 34-year-old, a six-time Pro Bowler, reunites with Shane Steichen, his former Chargers coach. Allen’s 2025 production lines up closely with what Michael Pittman Jr. gave Indianapolis before Pittman was traded to the Steelers in March: Pittman had 80 catches, 784 yards and seven touchdowns, while Allen posted 81 catches, 777 yards and four touchdowns.
The full comeback story goes deeper than the box score. It’s also a look at one of the hardest recoveries a player can go through. And yes, it apparently includes Colts backup quarterback Riley Leonard having 15 groomsmen.
Across the AFC South, Travis Hunter is still shaping up as one of the league’s most intriguing breakout candidates. Earlier this offseason, Jeff Howe picked the Jaguars’ dual threat as his 2026 breakout player, pointing to his defensive importance and saying, “Hunter needs to be an important part of Anthony Campanile’s defense, as the Jags’ vulnerabilities in the secondary were on full display during their playoff loss to the Bills.”
Hunter is expected to keep working on both sides of the ball, but the split leans heavily toward defense. His camp reps have been 65 percent on defense, with the rest at receiver, plus one special teams snap. Liam Coen said, per ESPN, “We all know he’s our 3A, 3B receiver right now, and (we’re) trying to get him the exposure to every opportunity that we have out here,”
On offense, Hunter has been splitting work with Brian Thomas Jr., who is currently the third option behind Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington. Thomas has drawn strong reviews this offseason, which points the breakout conversation back toward Hunter’s cornerback work. Fantasy managers may not love that, but it’s where the clearest path appears to be.
Jake Ciely also laid out his favorite fantasy targets for 2026, and he couldn’t keep it to three. His “my guys” list includes Bhayshul Tuten, Jonathon Brooks, Parker Washington and Colston Loveland, with Jaxson Dart as the quarterback he would have added if he’d been allowed a fifth name.
Tuten, Ciely wrote, fits the Liam Coen offense as well as any running back can. Brooks gets a boost from Chuba Hubbard’s injury, though Ciely said he believed in Brooks even before that.
Washington drew praise for the way he and Trevor Lawrence have picked up where they left off, and Loveland was placed in the same tier as Trey McBride and Brock Bowers.
Elsewhere, Roger Goodell is still talking about the NFL going beyond the United States. In an interview with German media outlet former NFL player Markus Kuhn, Goodell said, “At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA,” and added, “I have no doubt that this will happen one day.” Teams, plural.
Of course, that dream would come with a massive price tag. The average NFL team became about $2 billion more expensive over the past year, fueled in part by the Seahawks’ sale at $9.6 billion, a 46 percent premium over last year’s valuation.
Even the Bengals, who finished last, are up 35 percent in value. The Cowboys remain the league’s most valuable franchise at $15.5 billion.
So if the league ever does go international, it won’t just take a city. It’ll take a billionaire with very deep pockets.
In Other News...
Jaguars Tackle Depth Just Entered A Trade Rumor Fans Will Notice
Washingtons left tackle situation changed quickly after Laremy Tunsil suffered a torn triceps that will require surgery and is expected to keep him out for a significant portion of the 2026 season. Dan Quinn has already pointed to Brandon Coleman as the starter on the blind side, and for now the Commanders are saying they do not plan to go outside the building for help. Still, with the depth chart at a premium spot suddenly looking thinner, any team with a capable tackle is going to draw attention.
Thats where Jacksonville naturally enters the conversation, at least in a speculative sense, because Walker Little is the kind of name that can surface when another club is searching for stability up front. For the Jaguars, the wrinkle is obvious: there have been no public trade talks, and Little is currently hurt, which makes any move more complicated than the rumor mill might suggest. Even so, it is the sort of background noise that tends to follow a team with a usable tackle and a league with a lot of teams quietly watching the same position. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Camp Injuries Just Raised The Stakes For Several Roster Battles
The Jaguars roster battles got a little more complicated this week after the team delivered a fresh round of injury updates before its joint practice with the Panthers. Parker Washington is dealing with an undisclosed issue, Wyatt Milum will sit out the rest of the week, and LeQuint Allen is out for the remainder of training camp with a soft tissue injury, while Patrick Mekari has already gone through back surgery and still has an uncertain timetable for any injured reserve move.
For a team sorting through depth chart decisions in late August, the timing matters as much as the names. Washington has been part of a crowded competition at receiver, so every missed practice rep counts, and the absences elsewhere only tighten the numbers as Jacksonville tries to evaluate who can stay on the field and keep pushing through camp. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars May Be Leaning One Way With Travis Hunter After All
Travis Hunter has spent Jaguars training camp doing the rare double-duty act the team signed up for, working both cornerback and wide receiver while Jacksonville sorts out how best to use one of its most unique rookies. In recent practices, though, the emphasis has tilted more heavily toward defense, a sign the Jaguars are trying to make sure Hunter is ready for a meaningful role on that side of the ball without taking him out of the offensive mix.
Head coach Liam Coen has made it clear the increased cornerback workload is no accident, part of a deliberate plan to get Hunter more comfortable with the mental side of the position as well as the physical demands. Even with that shift, the Jaguars still view him as a key piece on offense, and the expectation remains that he will keep playing both ways as camp moves along. [Read more 🡒]