Indianapolis Colts injured starting quarterback Daniel Jones took to his personal Instagram account to communicate a heartfelt thank you to his teammates, the coaching staff, and the Horseshoe Faithful (via The Athletic’s James Boyd):
Of course, Jones deserves a lot of credit and should be lauded for his leadership and toughness, having started and played through a fractured fibula through the team’s last three games. Unfortunately, that fractured fibula in his left leg, may have led to his right leg attempting to overcompensate physically, which buckled, non-contact, late in the first quarter of last Sunday’s road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars—as Jones tore his right Achilles.
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Jones underwent season-ending surgery earlier this week and on the optimistic end, faces at least a 9 month recovery timetable.
As a pending priority free agent for the Colts, the significant injury could complicate his future contract negotiations coming up this offseason. At the very least, that long-term deal with Indianapolis that Jones once had been anticipating may be reduced to a 1-2 year ‘prove it’ deal.
Still, there may be some recognition from the Colts top brass, including ownership, that Jones cost himself some additional financial stability by playing through the injury, when he easily could’ve just shut it down a few weeks ago. Instead, Jones faces an even longer road to recovery, and questions of whether he’ll regain his prior form physically.
Without a 2026 first round pick, and unlikely to re-sign a 45-year-old Philip Rivers at season’s end (at least I think?), Jones still makes sense for Indianapolis to bring back on a shorter-term deal. That being said, it’s possible that the Minnesota Vikings, who’ve seen a lot more lows than highs with former fist rounder J.J. McCarthy at quarterback could look to bring Jones back, having vied with Indy this past offseason for him.