According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Indianapolis Colts plan to open contract negotiations with pending free agent starting quarterback Daniel Jones soon this offseason:
“My understanding is the Colts plan to open talks soon with Daniel Jones on a multi-year deal to keep him in Indianapolis,” Pelissero said. “Jones got to Indy last year on a one-year contract and was playing his best football the first half of the season until he suffered injuries including a torn Achilles that he is rehabbing right now.”
“I am told Jones wants to be in Indianapolis. The Colts want to work out a deal. If they can’t, the franchise tag would be an option, . . . but either way, the plan is Jones stays in Indy.”
Having signed a one-year deal with Indianapolis last offseason, Jones beat out incumbent starter Anthony Richardson for the Colts’ QB1 job this past training camp and preseason.
He was in the middle of a career year during his debut campaign in Indianapolis, completing 261 of 384 total pass attempts for 3,101 total passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, and 8 interceptions during 13 starts—guiding a historically prolific, once league-leading Colts offense.
Unfortunately, Jones suffered a fractured fibula either during or shortly after the Colts’ big win in Berlin against the Atlanta Falcons, which led to further lower leg complications, as playing through the fibula injury, he eventually suffered a season-ending torn Achilles injury during Week 14 on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
While Jones and his representation appear hopeful that he’ll be ready by this summer’s training camp, that Achilles injury likely complicates his imminent contract negotiations with the Colts or even elsewhere. He may have been looking at a new 3-4 year deal prior to the Achilles injury, but it may be closer to a 2-year deal now.
Not many of Jones quarterback contemporaries have fully recovered from a torn-Achilles and so soon thereafter. Let alone a quarterback that relies a great deal on his mobility to make plays both inside and outside the pocket.
Given the career renaissance that he had with Colts head coach Shane Steichen when initially paired together in 2025, and it makes a great deal of sense that Jones wants to return to Indianapolis if the two sides can safely strike a new, multi-year deal while the iron is hot this early offseason.
As for Indianapolis, the Colts lack an internal upgrade or a 2026 first round pick to potentially upgrade over Jones. Not to mention, outside of Jones, it’s a weak free agency quarterback class littered with just long-in-the-tooth veteran options and fringe-to-backup starting quarterback replacements.
With pending free agent and 2025 leading wideout Alec Pierce also a priority, it would make sense for the Colts to try to get a deal done quickly with at least one of their two priority free agents. That way, they would at least have the franchise tag at their disposal should contract negotiations with the other top priority break down.
In my opinion, Jones’ market may be a little easier to determine, given some of the quarterback deals we’ve recently seen, and may lack as many interested suitors as Pierce to drive up his potential price tag.
It looks to me like it could potentially be Jones’s former team, the Minnesota Vikings, who reportedly could look to provide veteran competition to compete against incumbent quarterback JJ McCarthy, and the Colts vying for his services this offseason. However, perhaps another potential ‘mystery suitor’ could emerge.
At any rate, the Colts currently appear to be the frontrunner here to retain Jones for at least the next few years.
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