The exit ramp was clear, and the Indianapolis Colts had the chance to put on their turn signal and take it.<\/p>\n
Daniel Jones, the team\u2019s new starting quarterback, had played so well through his first eight games<\/a>. His 13 touchdown passes against three interceptions, coupled with Jonathan Taylor\u2019s brilliance<\/a> 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\u2019d revitalized his career with the Colts and even earned some early MVP chatter.<\/p>\n But all of that success came to a screeching halt last week in a loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers, when Jones\u2019 old ways revisited him. He committed five turnovers, more than in any game he\u2019d ever played for the Giants. If there was ever a time for the Colts\u2019 belief in their new leader <\/a>to waver<\/a>, 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 \u201cdid good\u201d and just needed to clean up a few mistakes.<\/p>\n Two days later, Steichen and the Colts proved their conviction in Jones wasn\u2019t 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<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n Yes, you read that correctly.<\/p>\n With that trade, Jones can no longer be seen as a one-year rental. He\u2019s now the foundation of the franchise, after the Colts sent away their next two first-round picks \u2014 prime ammunition for any team looking for a QB \u2014 to stick with the one who\u2019s steering the NFL\u2019s highest scoring offense at 32.2 points per game.<\/p>\n \u201cI really haven\u2019t thought about that a ton, to be honest with you,\u201d Jones said Wednesday when asked if he thought Indy\u2019s trade for Gardner guaranteed he\u2019d remain with the team long-term. \u201cJust trying to kind of take it a day at a time and make sure we\u2019re ready to go this week. But I\u2019ve really enjoyed (being with the Colts), and we\u2019ve got to continue to grow and build.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones can pretend to ignore the trickle-down effect of Gardner\u2019s 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n Colts principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon wouldn\u2019t have allowed Ballard to give away a first-round pick, let alone two of them, if she wasn\u2019t convinced Jones is the answer at the most important position in football. She also wouldn\u2019t have signed off on this trade if she didn\u2019t believe just as strongly in Jones\u2019 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAs my dad said before he passed, Chris and Shane know that they have things they need to fix,\u201d Irsay-Gordon said in June during her first news conference as the Colts\u2019 principal owner. \u201cWe talked about not micromanaging people, but also, we have a standard here, and it hasn\u2019t been good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019re in the driver\u2019s seat to win the AFC South for the first time since 2014, which would also end a four-year playoff drought.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s see how the season goes,\u201d Steichen said in August when asked if Jones was more than a one-year stopgap. \u201cIf he plays really well for us, then there\u2019s a conversation after the season.\u201d<\/p>\n That conversation is already happening.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 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\u2019s on par with other quarterbacks who flamed out with one franchise before reinventing themselves with another.<\/p>\n Some retread passers who\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n The Colts are on the hook to pay Gardner $131.5 million over the next 5 1\/2 years. However, Gardner\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n The other, perhaps more forgotten, side of Jones\u2019 resurgence in Indianapolis is the effect it could have on Richardson\u2019s future, or lack thereof, with the franchise. Ballard has repeatedly stated that the team hasn\u2019t given up on the 2023 No. 4 pick, who was its highest-drafted player since Andrew Luck was selected in 2012.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to say, \u2018OK, he\u2019s done.\u2019 And I don\u2019t agree,\u201d Ballard said in August. \u201cI\u2019ve 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\u2019m proud of Anthony, of where he\u2019s at, how far he\u2019s come. He\u2019s come miles.\u201d<\/p>\n But he might still have too far to go, which prompts the question: Should the Colts trade Richardson to recoup draft capital?<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not trading him,\u201d Ballard said in August.<\/p>\n A lot has changed since then.<\/p>\n Ballard has repeatedly stated that Richardson is a big part of the team\u2019s future and added that the 23-year-old could gain invaluable experience as Jones\u2019 backup this season, but even that plan has gone awry. Richardson is on injured reserve after what league sources described as a \u201cfreak accident\u201d during pregame warmups in Week 6 resulted in an orbital fracture. He underwent surgery Oct. 20<\/a>, and although those sources said the hope is for him to return this season, Steichen has been unable to provide a definitive recovery timeline.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, the last time we publicly heard from Richardson\u2019s camp was when his agent, Deiric Jackson, told ESPN in August that the trust between Richardson\u2019s representation and the franchise was \u201cquestionable right now\u201d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAnthony came back and made the improvements in the areas he needed to improve,\u201d Jackson told ESPN. \u201cAnd by all accounts, he had a great camp.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s no realistic chance for the 23-year-old Richardson, who\u2019s still young enough to resurrect his career, to find that second act in Indianapolis \u2014 at least not anytime soon.<\/p>\n This is Jones\u2019 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The exit ramp was clear, and the Indianapolis Colts had the chance to put on their turn signal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[3686,349,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-278979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-indianapolis-colts","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}