{"id":303190,"date":"2025-08-20T12:14:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/303190\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T12:14:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:14:12","slug":"colts-name-daniel-jones-starting-qb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/303190\/","title":{"rendered":"Colts Name Daniel Jones Starting QB"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniel Jones<\/a>\u00a0is set to begin the campaign atop the Colts\u2019 depth chart. Jones has won out the team\u2019s quarterback competition, as first reported by NFL Network\u2019s Tom Pelissero<\/a>. The news is now official. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pelissero adds<\/a> head coach\u00a0Shane Steichen\u00a0informed Jones and\u00a0Anthony Richardson<\/a>\u00a0of the decision Tuesday morning. A call was expected in the near future<\/a>, and one has indeed been made. Jones, a free agent addition, will serve as QB1 to begin the regular season while Richardson will operate as the backup.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: Richardson\u2019s Agent Fires Back At Colts]<\/a><\/p>\n

Signs have pointed in this direction throughout the offseason, one in which Richardson has aimed to establish himself as Indianapolis\u2019 passer of the present and future. Today\u2019s news obviously marks a notable setback for the No. 4 pick in 2023\u2019s draft. Richardson has battled injuries and inconsistency in the NFL, including missed time this spring and a dislocated finger suffered in the preseason opener.<\/p>\n

When speaking publicly on the matter, Steichen has offered praise regarding Jones\u2019 experience and his command of the Colts\u2019 offense during practice and games. That helped lead to the expectation the former Giants top-1o selection would get the nod for 2025. With that said, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports<\/a> the Jones-Richardson competition was viewed as being \u201cvery close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones was retained via a four-year, $160MM contract in 2023, with the Giants inking him to the pact in time to apply the franchise tag on running back\u00a0Saquon Barkley<\/a>. Barkley departed on the open market last spring and enjoyed a record-breaking debut season with the Eagles. Jones, on the other hand, was unable to take a step forward in his fifth season as New York\u2019s starter before ultimately being benched and then released.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A brief Vikings tenure did not result in playing time down the stretch. Jones, like\u00a0Sam Darnold<\/a>, departed Minnesota on the open market in search of a starting position with the team positioned to hand the reins over to J.J. McCarthy<\/a>. Jones secured $13.15MM guaranteed on his one-year Colts contract, a strong indication he would have a path to the starting gig. As of June, the 28-year-old held a \u201csignificant<\/a>\u201d lead over Richardson.<\/p>\n

Time with the starting offense was split in training camp, with Richardson managing to return to full health after his latest shoulder injury was suffered earlier in the offseason. The Florida product has played just 15 games in the regular season to date, and he was benched partway through last year. A decision will need to be made on the fifth-year option for Richardson, 23, after the coming campaign. This move certainly suggests it will be declined.<\/p>\n

Steichen said on Tuesday (via Mike Chappell of Fox59<\/a>) Jones is viewed as the starter for the entire 2025 season. A strong campaign would help his free agent value considerably, and finding success with Indy\u2019s offense would no doubt serve as a benefit to Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard\u2018s job security<\/a>. As the Colts look to end a four-year playoff drought, they will rely on Jones for what should be a lengthy period. In the event of an injury or poor play, though, attention will turn to the possibility of Richardson taking over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Daniel Jones\u00a0is set to begin the campaign atop the Colts\u2019 depth chart. Jones has won out the team\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[2772,7,392,8730],"class_list":{"0":"post-303190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-daniel-jones","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis-colts","11":"tag-newsstand"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}