{"id":677978,"date":"2026-01-15T01:20:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T01:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/677978\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T01:20:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T01:20:15","slug":"colts-linked-to-10-million-promising-backup-quarterback-as-daniel-jones-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/677978\/","title":{"rendered":"Colts linked to $10 million promising backup quarterback as Daniel Jones’ insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Indianapolis Colts<\/a>‘ quarterback situation is looking incredibly uncertain heading into the 2025 offseason.<\/p>\n

When healthy, Daniel Jones looked like a franchise quarterback this year. However, he tore his Achilles tendon<\/a> in Week 14 and is set to hit unrestricted free agency in the coming months.<\/p>\n

Though the Colts want to retain Jones<\/a>, and the veteran signal-caller is expected to return for training camp<\/a>, it would still be wise for Indianapolis to add a high-level backup and insurance policy behind Jones.<\/p>\n

That’s why Sportsnaut’s Matt Johnson<\/a> predicts the Colts will sign Green Bay Packers<\/a> free-agent quarterback Malik Willis this offseason.<\/p>\n

Here is what Johnson had to say about Willis and why he makes sense in Indianapolis:<\/p>\n

“Indianapolis needs an insurance plan, and that is Malik Willis. Willis would have the opportunity to compete for the starting job this offseason, receiving a majority of the first-team reps in minicamp until Jones returns. Plus, his athleticism and arm strength would make him an excellent fit in Shane Steichen\u2019s offense.”<\/p>\n

Willis has been one of the best backup quarterbacks in football over the last two seasons. He went 2-0 as a starter in 2024, and though he didn’t win a start in 2025, he completed 85.7% of his passes<\/a> and tallied 3 touchdown passes with no interceptions when called upon.<\/p>\n

The Liberty product also added 123 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, showcasing his dynamic skill set.<\/p>\n

Riley Leonard showed flashes this year, but he isn’t ready to be the No. 2 quarterback on a team with question marks at the position. Anthony Richardson has likely played his final down<\/a> in a Colts uniform, so he is out of the equation.<\/p>\n

Willis would be the perfect backup for Shane Steichen’s squad, as he has mobility and has improved tremendously in the accuracy department. Additionally, the 26-year-old has experience as a starter and is always ready for the moment.<\/p>\n

Spotrac projects Willis will land a one-year deal worth $10.6 million.<\/a>\u00a0Indianapolis is slated to have $33 million in cap space this offseason<\/a>, so general manager Chris Ballard has plenty of money to sign Willis and ensure they have a stable quarterback situation in 2026.<\/p>\n

More NFL News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Indianapolis Colts‘ quarterback situation is looking incredibly uncertain heading into the 2025 offseason. When healthy, Daniel Jones…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-677978","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis","11":"tag-indianapolis-colts","12":"tag-indianapoliscolts","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115896491976502357","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677978","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=677978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}