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Colts rumors: Daniel Jones’ injury sets up complicated franchise-changing contract decision
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- Colts rumors: Daniel Jones’ injury sets up complicated franchise-changing contract decision
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The Indianapolis Colts are 8-5 and holding onto the final spot in the AFC Wild Card race. But the Colts lost Daniel Jones to an Achilles injury on Sunday, putting their season on the brink of disaster. But without their first-round picks in the next two seasons, the future, all of a sudden, is murky. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer outlined the complicated quarterback questions for the Colts.
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"Indianapolis's expectation, even without a contract in place, was to make Jones the team's quarterback for the foreseeable future. Would his injury change that plan? I don't think so, but I don't know for sure," Breer pondered.
Breer continued, "The Colts could franchise tag Jones in 2026 to see how the rebab goes, but that won't be cheap. Last year, the quarterback franchise tag number was $40.241 million. Next year, it projects to be around $46 million. That's not only triple what Jones is making now, it'd also give Jones the leverage to land a deal in the range of $50 million per year. Are the Colts prepared to do that sort of a deal with a quarterback coming off an Achilles tear? Or would they rather pay the lump sum? Or maybe try to find common ground at a lower number by letting Jones hit the market?"
The Colts drafted Anthony Richardson fourth overall in 2023 , but his injury will prevent him from another tryout with Jones injured. That complicates the situation even more. They traded their first-round pick in 2026 and 2027, don't have a quarterback better than Richardson on the roster, and likely won't make the playoffs.
The Colts have a lot of questions to answer in the offseason, but they have big games ahead of them. If Riley Leonard could find a way to beat the Seattle Seahawks next week, they would be in the thick of the Wild Card race. But that feels unlikely after a deflating Sunday in Jacksonville .
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Related: Colts' Daniel Jones tore his Achilles in loss to Jaguars
