Fairy Tale Crashes Down on Former Vikings QB
It’s all over for Daniel Jones. His fairy tale ending will not occur in Indianapolis, at least not in 2025 — and probably 2026. Jones reportedly tore his Achilles tendon in Week 14, and that’s a wrap on his once-promising season.
An injury has slammed the brakes on a former Vikings QB, crashing his fairy-tale run and throwing his future into serious uncertainty.
Indianapolis will now turn to a hodgepodge of Riley Leonard, possibly Anthony Richardson down the road, and perhaps a free-agent quarterback to be named later.
Ex-Vikings QB Daniel Jones Is Out for the Year
A brutal blow for a guy who had MVP dreams.
Achilles’ Tear Ends Jones’ Season
Jones is cooked. ESPN’s Stephen Holder wrote Sunday night, “Daniel Jones helped spark a massive turnaround in the Indianapolis Colts’ offense through the first half of the season. Now, as Indianapolis sputters to the finish line, Jones will be a spectator.”
“The Colts quarterback, who helped engineer an offense that was on a record trajectory through eight weeks, suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in the first quarter of Sunday’s 36-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, sources confirmed to ESPN. He’s set to undergo surgery. The injury and the subsequent defeat leave the Colts in a daunting situation, with a rookie backup quarterback under center, a brutal stretch run ahead and dimming playoff hopes.”
Unless ESPN’s sources are flatly wrong, Jones will be gone from the NFL for quite some time.
Colts Spiral Meanwhile
Indianapolis has lost three straight after an 8-2 start, the starting quarterback is gone, and it no longer has a hold of the AFC South. The Colts may be done. That’s not a panicky assertion; it’s probably reality.
According to the New York Times — and this is utterly unbelievable, based on where the Colts were at one month ago — Shane Steichen and friends have just a 30% chance to reach the postseason.
After going all-in via trade for cornerback Sauce Gardner, a deal including two 1st-Round picks, Indianapolis’ wheels have spun off. All the way off. An objective man or woman would proclaim the season over, unless Riley Leonard has an undercover hero’s tale waiting.
Jones’ Grim Outlook
For Jones, it gets worse than the cold, hard reality of missing the rest of the season. Athletes cannot rush Achilles recoveries. That never ends well.
Not only is Jones’ 2025 campaign toast, his 2026 season is up in the air. In fact, because the injury has occurred in Week 14, he should sit on the shelf for all of 2026 and bide his time for 2027. That would put Jones on tap for his age-30 season in 2027 — somewhere and probably with a new team.
Jones went from an MVP candidate in October to a man who likely won’t factor into the NFL next season. A horrid fall from grace.
Indianapolis Could Miss the Playoffs
And it’s not like the Colts’ schedule does them any favors.
These are the remaining games:
- Week 15: at Seattle Seahawks
- Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers
- Week 17: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 18: at Houston Texans
No easy games. None. Indianapolis must win three of the next four to stamp a playoff ticket — with Leonard or a man off the street to be named later.
Steichen’s team also has former Vikings passer Brett Rypien in the roster orbit.
Mike Florio on the Plight of Jones, IND
Florio wrote Monday morning, “Jones had signed a one-year, $14 million contract with Indianapolis. He earned the Week 1 starting job, winning eight of 12 games before making an early exit on Sunday in Jacksonville. The Colts seemingly had found a long-term answer.”
“An end to the post-Luck revolving door of Jacoby Brissett, Brian Hoyer, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, Nick Foles, Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew, and Joe Flacco. Now what? Jones will be rehabbing the injury in March, when it’s time for the Colts and other teams to begin getting the QB ducks in a row for 2026. Any chance at a multi-year deal have been dashed.”
A reminder: the Colts are also missing their next two 1st-Rounders due to the aforementioned Gardner trade. They’re stuck in every direction.
Florio continued, “The team’s fallback of the franchise tag won’t happen, either. Yes, Kirk Cousins got a four-year deal with $100 million fully guaranteed two years ago, only four-plus months after suffering the same injury. But how has that worked out for the Falcons? Besides, Cousins was more consistent and accomplished before he hit free agency after six years with the Vikings.”
“Regardless of how it plays out, the injury changes everything for the Colts and for Jones. And tough decisions will need to be made by both the team and the player, decisions much tougher than the ones they were going to make — how many commas, how many zeroes?”
Indianapolis is expected to lose by 11 or 12 points this weekend at Seattle.
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