The Indianapolis Colts needed to push Anthony Richardson to ensure the chance he hits a stride and becomes the quarterback of the future. The only way to do this was to bring in strong competition, this was done by signing Daniel Jones to a one-year, $14 million deal with the possibility of $17.7 million.
The Colts are ready to see which field general will be the true starter to lead Shane Steichen’s offense. Regardless of which young talent takes over under center, it’s all about success this year, or this franchise might start to look different after 2025.
There are detractors to the Jones signing, with Pro Football Focus falling into that category. Mason Cameron listed Jones as his ‘least favorite’ move for the Colts.
“Although you can’t knock the Colts’ proactive approach to bringing in competition for Anthony Richardson, this deal makes Jones one of the highest-paid backups in the NFL. However, Jones has earned a 70.0-plus PFF overall grade in each of his past four seasons in which he played at least 350 snaps.”
The contract for Jones is rich, but the Colts had to show Richardson they meant business with this signing. So far, Richardson hasn’t impressed, as he’s accumulated more turnovers than touchdowns throughout his short NFL career. Through 15 games and two seasons, he’s thrown 13 picks to 11 touchdowns and 12 fumbles to 10 rushing scores.
In short, Jones might be highly paid as a backup and has struggled throughout his career, but he wasn’t helped much during his time with the New York Giants. Jones has a new chance to revitalize his career while Richardson has the same to show Indianapolis he can handle the competition.
Richardson is better for Steichen and has far more of a ceiling than Jones, regardless of whether the former Duke Blue Devil can move and is more accurate. If Richardson hits positive momentum, he’ll win the gig over Jones.
Pro Football Focus might not be the biggest fan of the signing, but Jones was the most eager quarterback on the market and had the perfect situation. Given how the Giants were done with Jones as the starter and he subsequently sat behind Sam Darnold in Minnesota, Jones was hungry to compete.
This is good for Richardson and Jones as this duel will bring out the best from each quarterback. The competition will be fierce and both are prepared to make the most out of the situation. For the Colts, it’s about evaluating everything and making sure to place the right signal-caller in the cockpit while giving them the best chance to shine.
If the Colts can win the AFC South and make the playoffs in 2025, it won’t matter which player wins the competition. While Indianapolis wants Richardson to work out and it’s important to see that happen, it’s a bigger priority to push for divisional gold and win enough to make the playoffs.
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