The exit ramp was clear, and the Indianapolis Colts had the chance to put on their turn signal and take it.
Daniel Jones, the team’s new starting quarterback, had played so well through his first eight games. His 13 touchdown passes against three interceptions, coupled with Jonathan Taylor’s brilliance out of the backfield, propelled Indianapolis to a 7-1 start. Jones no longer looked like the turnover-prone passer whom the New York Giants kicked to the curb last season. He’d revitalized his career with the Colts and even earned some early MVP chatter.
But all of that success came to a screeching halt last week in a loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers, when Jones’ old ways revisited him. He committed five turnovers, more than in any game he’d ever played for the Giants. If there was ever a time for the Colts’ belief in their new leader to waver, it was after he threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles. Instead, Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen doubled down on his trust in Jones during his postgame news conference, saying his QB “did good” and just needed to clean up a few mistakes.
Two days later, Steichen and the Colts proved their conviction in Jones wasn’t a bluff when general manager Chris Ballard agreed to one of the biggest trades in franchise history. Ballard shipped a 2026 and 2027 first-round pick and wide receiver AD Mitchell to the New York Jets in exchange for star cornerback Sauce Gardner. The two-time first-team All-Pro was brought in to help the Colts maximize their newfound championship window that was cracked open by their franchise QB: Jones.
Yes, you read that correctly.
With that trade, Jones can no longer be seen as a one-year rental. He’s now the foundation of the franchise, after the Colts sent away their next two first-round picks — prime ammunition for any team looking for a QB — to stick with the one who’s steering the NFL’s highest scoring offense at 32.2 points per game.
“I really haven’t thought about that a ton, to be honest with you,” Jones said Wednesday when asked if he thought Indy’s trade for Gardner guaranteed he’d remain with the team long-term. “Just trying to kind of take it a day at a time and make sure we’re ready to go this week. But I’ve really enjoyed (being with the Colts), and we’ve got to continue to grow and build.”
Jones can pretend to ignore the trickle-down effect of Gardner’s arrival, and knowing how obsessed he is with his craft, he might even be telling the truth. Jones might be completely locked in on helping the Colts bounce back this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin. But those in charge of adding Gardner to the roster don’t have the luxury of being so singularly focused. They have to think about the big picture, and Jones is in the center of the frame.
Colts principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon wouldn’t have allowed Ballard to give away a first-round pick, let alone two of them, if she wasn’t convinced Jones is the answer at the most important position in football. She also wouldn’t have signed off on this trade if she didn’t believe just as strongly in Jones’ play caller and the man who brought him to Indianapolis in the first place. Steichen and Ballard are here to stay, too, just five months after Irsay-Gordon publicly challenged them.
“As my dad said before he passed, Chris and Shane know that they have things they need to fix,” Irsay-Gordon said in June during her first news conference as the Colts’ principal owner. “We talked about not micromanaging people, but also, we have a standard here, and it hasn’t been good enough.”
Since then, the Colts won their first season opener since 2013 and have climbed to the top of the AFC at 7-2 for their best start through nine games since 2009, the last year the franchise appeared in the Super Bowl. They’re in the driver’s seat to win the AFC South for the first time since 2014, which would also end a four-year playoff drought.
Jones has been the biggest catalyst. The Colts initially signed him to stabilize their present, yet in eight months, he has already cemented himself as the cornerstone of their future, too.
“Let’s see how the season goes,” Steichen said in August when asked if Jones was more than a one-year stopgap. “If he plays really well for us, then there’s a conversation after the season.”
That conversation is already happening.
Jones bet on himself and inked a one-year, $14 million contract to join Indianapolis in March, believing he could supplant 2023 No. 4 pick Anthony Richardson as QB1. Before free agency rolls around again next year, the Colts will bet it all on the quarterback who has flipped their fortunes. What Jones’ deal could look like remains to be seen as the team weighs its options. The Colts could franchise-tag Jones at a projected $46 million, per Over the Cap, or they could sign him to an extension that’s on par with other quarterbacks who flamed out with one franchise before reinventing themselves with another.
Some retread passers who’ve recently cashed in are Geno Smith, who signed a two-year, $75 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders in April; Sam Darnold, who inked a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks in March; and Baker Mayfield, who agreed to a three-year, $100 million pact with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2024. Assuming Jones stays healthy the rest of this season, his next contract will likely land somewhere in the $35 million annual salary range, which makes the Gardner trade that much more notable.
The Colts are on the hook to pay Gardner $131.5 million over the next 5 1/2 years. However, Gardner’s cap hit for the 2026 campaign is just $9.5 million, before it jumps to $21.0 million in 2027. The unique structure of his contract should help the Colts remain flexible next year, especially as they navigate the salary cap, when they begin negotiating with Jones in free agency.
The other, perhaps more forgotten, side of Jones’ resurgence in Indianapolis is the effect it could have on Richardson’s future, or lack thereof, with the franchise. Ballard has repeatedly stated that the team hasn’t given up on the 2023 No. 4 pick, who was its highest-drafted player since Andrew Luck was selected in 2012.
“It’s easy to say, ‘OK, he’s done.’ And I don’t agree,” Ballard said in August. “I’ve said this numerous times: I do not agree with that. I think overcoming challenges and obstacles along the way are good for anybody. I do. I’m proud of Anthony, of where he’s at, how far he’s come. He’s come miles.”
But he might still have too far to go, which prompts the question: Should the Colts trade Richardson to recoup draft capital?
“We’re not trading him,” Ballard said in August.
A lot has changed since then.
Ballard has repeatedly stated that Richardson is a big part of the team’s future and added that the 23-year-old could gain invaluable experience as Jones’ backup this season, but even that plan has gone awry. Richardson is on injured reserve after what league sources described as a “freak accident” during pregame warmups in Week 6 resulted in an orbital fracture. He underwent surgery Oct. 20, and although those sources said the hope is for him to return this season, Steichen has been unable to provide a definitive recovery timeline.
Through two years, Richardson has missed 21 games due to injury. He was also benched for two games last year for what Steichen described as a lack of game preparation.
For what it’s worth, the last time we publicly heard from Richardson’s camp was when his agent, Deiric Jackson, told ESPN in August that the trust between Richardson’s representation and the franchise was “questionable right now” after Richardson lost the starting job to Jones. Jackson wondered if his client was given a fair shake in the open QB competition during training camp.
“Anthony came back and made the improvements in the areas he needed to improve,” Jackson told ESPN. “And by all accounts, he had a great camp.”
At this point, a fresh start could be beneficial for both sides because the reality is that Jones is 28, not 38. So, with that in mind, as long as Jones avoids a major injury and keeps playing good football, there’s no realistic chance for the 23-year-old Richardson, who’s still young enough to resurrect his career, to find that second act in Indianapolis — at least not anytime soon.
This is Jones’ team for the foreseeable future. It would be convenient if the Colts had simply said that after the Gardner trade, but a move of that magnitude speaks volumes on its own.