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Stephen Holder
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Daniel Jones limped off the field and into the tunnel leading to a dejected Indianapolis Colts locker room. He was rain-soaked, disheveled and had just sustained a right torn Achilles a couple hours prior.The expression he wore after Sunday’s 36-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was the perfect illustration of his team’s bleak predicament.
The Colts (8-5), already in the midst of a precipitous slide after starting the season with the NFL’s best record at 7-1, now face a long list of complicated questions in the wake of Jones’ serious injury. A torn Achilles, which is what a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter Jones suffered, can take as long as a year to fully recover from, raising thorny issues related to the future of the position in Indianapolis. And given the unraveling of the Colts’ season, what might a disappointing finish mean for the team’s leadership, its veteran players and everyone involved?
With Jones headed for season-ending surgery and months of rehab, here are the critical questions brought about by Jones’ devastating injury.
What happens in the immediate term?
For now, rookie backup Riley Leonard takes the reins, and that puts the Colts in a tough spot. Leonard was drafted in the sixth round out of Notre Dame with the team viewing him as a developmental quarterback. He was the third-string option until a scary pregame accident involving quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr., who sustained an orbital fracture to his face after a mishap involving stretching bands in October. Richardson remains on injured reserve.
Leonard has been the No. 2 quarterback ever since. And while he has worked diligently and has made significant strides — just last week Leonard spent a late evening at Jones’ house doing extra game prep — one of the primary strengths of the Colts’ offense was Jones’ ability to process situations quickly and accurately and make sound decisions. Leonard will be hard-pressed to duplicate that given his inexperience.
Against the Jags, Leonard completed 18 of 29 attempts for 145 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Leonard also rushed for a score. But 16 of Leonard’s attempts were five yards or fewer down the field, according to ESPN Research.
Leonard did show the game wasn’t too big for him, and he’ll need to demonstrate that again if he makes his first start next Sunday on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. In the immediate aftermath of the game, Leonard was already getting significant support from his teammates.
“Having guys like [All-pro guard] Quenton Nelson come up to me and say he believes in me,” Leonard said, “Everybody on the sideline was so supportive. That’s always good for a rookie quarterback.”
What’s next at quarterback for Indy?
The Colts had been having internal discussions about a contract extension for Jones long before they became the hottest offense in the NFL. Through eight games, the Colts were 7-1, were averaging six more points per game than any other team and were producing 6.5 yards per play, on pace for one of the highest marks in franchise history.
Jones was the key to unlocking all of it, with his efficiency, accurate passing and execution of coach Shane Steichen’s smart schemes. Jones seemed like an answer to the Colts’ years-long uncertainty at quarterback. But now, everything about his future is in question.
He is scheduled to become a free agent in the spring, when his one-year contract expires. But he will be far from a return to the field at that point, and his status for next season is, at best, in question.
Do the Colts take a chance on him and sign him to a reduced contract? Do they look elsewhere? Can they even count on him for 2026?
Those answers are a long way off, but the impression Jones has made on the Colts was clear in the reaction to his injury.
“That’s our team leader,” receiver Alec Pierce said. “That’s our team captain right there. Everything runs through him. That was brutal.”
Worth noting is that Richardson remains under contract for 2026. His future has been in question since he lost a preseason position battle with Jones. But Sunday’s developments could change things for him. Richardson showed improvement through training camp and is still just 23 years old.
What if the season unravels?
In many ways, it already is unraveling. The Colts started Sunday in a tie for first place in the AFC South, but Jacksonville (9-4) now sits alone atop the division. The Colts dropped to the periphery of the wild-card standings after the loss.
So, after a remarkable start that had Indianapolis with the best record in the NFL, how would a collapse down the stretch reflect on the men in charge of the team?
The futures of general manager Chris Ballard and Steichen were in question after last season’s 8-9 finish. But the late owner Jim Irsay, who passed away in May, agreed to give the pair one more shot in 2025.
Losing a starting quarterback in Week 14 with the playoffs still within reach certainly complicates the evaluation process. But things were already slipping away even before Jones’ injury. Nothing that’s happened in recent weeks reflects well on the team’s brass, and it will be a difficult assessment if the Colts can’t finish strong in its remaining games against the Seahawks, 49ers Jaguars and Texans. The combined record of those teams is 39-14.
What is the impact of ownership changes?
The subplot to all of this is that all the difficult decisions ahead of the Colts will be made by different decision-makers.
Irsay’s oldest daughter, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, and her sisters, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson, are now primary owners. How they will process what’s happened isn’t certain. Jim Irsay was often prone to emotional and abrupt decisions, but his daughters are seen as much more pragmatic.
But however they choose to proceed, the Colts are not in an optimum situation. Jones’ injury is compounded by the absence of their first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, which the team recently traded to the New York Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner in an effort to make a deep playoff run this season.
The Colts also will have to navigate the futures of core players. Pierce and defensive end Kwity Paye are entering free agency, receiver Michael Pittman Jr.’s salary-cap figure jumps to $29 million and running back Jonathan Taylor is due an extension (2026 is the final season of his contract).
A single injury has led to a multitude of questions for which there are no immediate answers.