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Daniel Jones has suffered his second leg injury of the season
The quarterback woes continue for the Indianapolis Colts.
After a solid start to the 2025 season, things took a 180-degree turn with Indy finishing the season on a seven-game losing streak.
Part of the reason things went wrong was the injury to Daniel Jones, who was playing through a fractured leg before suffering a torn Achilles tendon, which ended his season.
Backup quarterback Anthony Richardson suffered an orbital fracture in a pregame incident in Week 6 and was left on injured reserve the rest of the season.
Indy brought Philip Rivers out of retirement to help lead a late playoff charge with the AFC South team, but failed to do so.
Looking forward, the Colts will likely have to use the free agent market to possibly fix the quarterback room.
Retired Quarterback Hints At Return to NFL
GettyThe Colts may have a solution to their long-term quarterback problem
The Indianapolis Colts have never found a true replacement after Andrew Luck announced his sudden retirement from the NFL just two weeks before the start of the 2019 season.
Quarterbacks have come and gone, but none have stuck around to be the next long-term, or even potential franchise QB.
Indy brought one quarterback out of retirement and may be able to bring a second for the 2026 season.
Former Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has mentioned that he could come out of retirement under the right conditions, specifically being healthy and playing for a Super Bowl.
CBS Sports’ John Breech names the Colts as a landing spot for Carr if he were able to make a comeback to the league.
“Daniel Jones had a strong season in his first year with Indianapolis, but it came to a painful end in December when he tore his Achilles. That’s one of the most brutal injuries in sports and there’s no guarantee he’s going to be ready for Week 1 in 2026,” Breech wrote. “Not only is Jones’ health up in the air, but he’s also set to be a free agent, so the Colts have to figure out what they want to do with him, and that’s where Carr comes in.”
“If the Colts decide to re-sign Jones, Carr could sign a one-year deal and be the QB until Jones is ready to play. If Carr has proven one thing in his career, it’s that he can be successful when he has some great offensive talent around him and the Colts have that. They have a solid offensive line, they have one of the best running backs in the NFL (Jonathan Taylor), they have a solid receiving group led by Michael Pittman and they have a solid young tight end in Tyler Warren. This is the kind of team that Carr could thrive on.”
The Colts lost two of their 2024 starting offensive linemen in free agency and had one of the best offensive lines in the league. Pro Football Focus ranked Indy’s front five as the second-best in the league.
Pittman was able to record a 700+ yard and 7 touchdown season even with the quarterback carousel.
Taylor was one of the best running backs in the league, recording the third-most rushing yards (1,585) and the most rushing touchdowns (18) for the Colts.
Warren was one of the best offensive rookies and the best rookie tight end in terms of receiving yards and four touchdown receptions.
With the weapons and the offensive line around him, Indianapolis seems like an ideal play for a one-season run for Carr if he were to return to the NFL.
Carr announced his retirement after the 2024 season, after his second season with the Saints.
The former Fresno State Bulldog was a four-time Pro Bowler, producing over 41,000 passing yards and 257 passing touchdowns in his 11-year career.
Now, just a year after hanging up his gloves, the former second-round pick may come back for another season.
Colts Get News On Daniel Jones
GettyThe QB problem still lingers for the Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are starting the process to retain players for the 2026 season, with the team having started contract negotiations with Daniel Jones, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The former Duke Blue Devil helped the Colts to one of the best records in the league at 7-1, before the team had a bad finish to the season.
Even with a fractured leg in his latter half of the season, Jones threw for 3,101 yards and 19 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions across 13 games.
Jones provided the Colts organization and fanbase with some hope of finding their long-term option at quarterback after years of swapping QBs.
But if Derek Carr were to make a return, it could make for an interesting training camp.
Jason Garcia Jason Garcia is a sports contributor for Heavy Sports who joined the team in 2025, covering the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. More about Jason Garcia
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