The Indianapolis Colts fear quarterback Daniel Jones tore his right Achilles tendon during the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, league sources told The Athletic. The team won’t know for sure until Jones undergoes further testing in the morning, but the initial diagnosis is not promising.
“Could be season-ending,” coach Shane Steichen confirmed in his postgame news conference. “I don’t have the full details on it, but we’ll get more clarity on that. … It’s not looking good.”
Facing third-and-8 from Indianapolis’ 42-yard line, Jones dropped back to pass, but after throwing a 7-yard pass to wide receiver Alec Pierce, he immediately fell to the ground and clutched at his right Achilles. The Colts ruled him out a short while later.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was flagged for a chop block, which negated the play, but while the refs sorted out the penalty, Jones remained down. He slammed his helmet on the ground in frustration before eventually getting up and limping over to the sideline. Jones was briefly looked at in the medical tent, dropping his head into his hands as he hopped on the table, before heading back to the locker room and being quickly ruled out with an Achilles injury.
Riley Leonard replaced Jones at quarterback. The rookie, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 draft, had logged just six snaps and two pass attempts (zero completions) this season entering Sunday’s contest. Leonard took over the QB2 role in Week 6 after Anthony Richardson Sr., the 2023 No. 4 pick, suffered an orbital fracture during a pregame warmup accident. Richardson has not yet been cleared to resume football activities.
Leonard finished Sunday 18-of-29 passing for 145 yards with one interception. He also added a touchdown on the ground.
#Colts Week 14 recap! pic.twitter.com/MH6mlDf5Hw
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) December 7, 2025
If Jones is indeed out for the season due to an Achilles injury, it would be a devastating blow for the Colts. Jones, who signed a one-year, $14 million deal to join Indianapolis in free agency, had been a revelation since winning the starting job over Richardson. He powered the Colts to a 7-1 start, and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that the Colts and Jones’ representatives were set to begin contract extension talks after the season. Indianapolis believed in Jones so much that it traded wide receiver AD Mitchell and its next two first-round picks — essentially two chances to draft another quarterback — to the Jets to acquire two-time, first-team All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. Gardner went down last week with a left calf injury and is out indefinitely.
Daniel Jones with a boot on his injured right leg. He’s back on the #Colts sidelines in rain gear. pic.twitter.com/4ViUqbRBLe
— Brett Bensley (@brettbensley) December 7, 2025
Jones had already been playing through a fractured left fibula, which the Colts believed would heal as the season went on. The QB was moving better Sunday than he had in previous weeks, but his day was cut short due to the Achilles injury, which could have far-reaching implications not only for Jones but the future of the Colts franchise.
The only other quarterback on the Colts’ roster is third-stringer Brett Rypien, whom the team signed after Richardson was placed on injured reserve. However, since Indianapolis did not call Rypien up from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday’s game, he can not step in if Leonard were to get hurt. The Colts’ emergency QB in this scenario is lefty tight end Tyler Warren, who played QB in high school.
Looking beyond Sunday, Colts coach Shane Steichen kept the door open for Richardson to return later this season. While he didn’t have a timeline, he said the team is “hopeful” Richardson will return to the team this season.
“He’s just resting his eye right now, and when that time comes, I’ll let you guys know for sure,” Steichen said recently. “Obviously, anytime you’re dealing with an eye, you want to make sure he’s got full vision in that eye.”