Shane Steichen isn’t reaching for the panic button at quarterback, even as Daniel Jones keeps digging the Indianapolis Colts into a tougher hole.
After the Colts fell 16-10 to the Minnesota Vikings, Steichen made it clear he is sticking with Jones for now, despite a start to 2026 that has gone from uneven to ugly. Jones, who helped fuel Indianapolis’ hot opening to the 2025 season, has slipped into one of the NFL’s least efficient passers through Week 7 and now sits at the center of a 2-5 team that ranks 25th in total offense per game.
"I have not thought about a quarterback change," Steichen said after the loss to Minnesota. "I've got a ton of faith in Daniel.
The game plan today was to go in and run the football. Obviously, at the end, he had the interception.
That happens in football."
That interception ended any real hope the Colts had. With 1:39 left and Indianapolis needing a touchdown to grab a late lead, Jones threw a crushing pick to Vikings safety Harrison Smith on the second play of the final drive. He finished 13-for-22 for 108 yards and was sacked four times.
Jones admitted the performance fell short and said the coach’s backing mattered.
"It means a lot" to have his coach's confidence after such a rough showing.
"It's my job to play well, to put the team in position to win games," Jones said. "I gotta do a better job of that.
I certainly understand that. We all gotta go back to work.
I gotta go back to work, see where I can be better."
The matchup was a brutal one on paper and got even worse in practice. Jones has been one of the league’s worst quarterbacks under pressure this season, and Minnesota made sure he felt every bit of it. Brian Flores’ defense blitzed Jones on 85.2% of his dropbacks in Week 7, the highest blitz rate by any defense in a game in the Next Gen Stats era, which dates to 2016.
The numbers behind Jones’ season tell the same story. Among 33 qualified passers, he ranks 22nd in passing yards per game at 199.7, 27th in completion percentage at 59.6, tied for 29th with seven interceptions, 30th in EPA per dropback at -0.20, tied for 31st in passing touchdowns per game at 0.6, and 31st in passer rating at 69.4.
For now, the more uncomfortable question for Indianapolis is what comes next if Steichen really does stay the course. The alternatives are not inspiring.
Anthony Richardson is the backup in his fourth NFL season, while Riley Leonard has been inactive but available as the emergency third quarterback. Neither has shown much in the way of proven production, and both come with lower ceilings than Jones flashed in his breakout start to last season.
Richardson, the former No. 4 overall pick, is already on the outside of the long-term plan. The Colts declined his fifth-year option, and his career has stalled badly, with just 15 starts over three seasons, 13 interceptions against 11 touchdowns, and a 50.6% completion rate. At this point, Indianapolis still sees him as a rushing threat more than a dependable passer.
Leonard, a former sixth-round pick in his second year, does not offer much more as a thrower. As a rookie he appeared in five games and made one start, going 39-for-67 for 415 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He can run, too, but the fact that he did not beat out Richardson for the No. 2 job says plenty.
The bigger bind for the Colts is contractual. One of Chris Ballard’s final major moves before he was fired this month was extending Jones on a two-year deal, a decision that now looks even more costly given Jones’ struggles and his recovery from a torn Achilles. Jones is set to make an average of $44 million per year and carries $60 million guaranteed across the deal.
That contract ties Indianapolis to him through 2027 at a hefty price. Jones will bring a $46.8 million cap hit next season, making it likely the Colts are committed to him as the starter for another year.
The hope is that more time removed from the Achilles tear will bring him closer to the version he showed early in 2025. If not, Indianapolis will be paying top dollar for one of the league’s least productive starting quarterbacks.
Richardson is likely to be gone by next year, and Leonard would be easy to move on from with his $1.1 million salary and virtually no dead cap hit. That could leave the Colts overhauling the quarterback room behind Jones entirely.
If Indianapolis decides it can’t bank on a rebound, the draft becomes the obvious place to look. But that path is complicated, too, because the Sauce Gardner trade leaves the Colts without a first-round pick in 2027.
In Other News...
Vikings Keep Winning But One Concern Is Getting Harder To Ignore
The Vikings kept their perfect start rolling with a home win over the Colts, and the formula looked familiar enough by now. Defense and special teams did most of the heavy lifting, while Will Reichard continued his remarkable run with a franchise-record field goal streak and the offense did just enough to stay in front, including a touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to T.J. Hockenson.
Still, the latest win also added to a growing concern that is getting harder to brush aside. Even with Minnesota sitting at 6-0, the offense has not looked as clean or as consistent as the record suggests, and the team keeps leaning on the other phases to carry it through games. In a season where the margin for error is shrinking, that imbalance is becoming impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings May Be Heading For A Tougher T.J. Hockenson Decision
T.J. Hockensons place in Minnesota has suddenly turned into one of the more interesting contract stories around the Vikings. After the team reworked his deal, he is in the final year of his contract, and his recent usage has reminded everyone why the tight end market can move quickly when production shows up at the right time. He was a major part of the offense in the Week 4 win, catching 13 passes for 119 yards, a sign that his role can still grow when he is featured.
The timing makes the next stretch especially important. Hockenson suffered a concussion in Week 5, which briefly interrupted the momentum he had built, but there is still plenty of season left for him to shape his next payday. If his targets keep climbing and he stays on the field, the Vikings may have a tougher call than they expected when it comes to what he costs beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]
J.J. McCarthy Just Gave Vikings Fans A Tough New Debate
J.J. McCarthys first start for the Giants arrived in Week 7, and it immediately gave Minnesota fans something to think about. Facing the Texans, the former Vikings quarterback helped New York pull out a 27-21 overtime win while showing the kind of poise and efficiency that made him such an intriguing young option in the first place.
He finished 20 of 28 for 252 yards without a touchdown or interception, and the Giants leaned hard on the run game to finish the job with 188 rushing yards and four scores. For Vikings observers, the uncomfortable part is obvious: the move that sent McCarthy to New York for a 2027 fifth-round pick last month suddenly looks a lot more worth revisiting, even if one strong debut is only one piece of a bigger evaluation. [Read more 🡒]