The promising season was always doomed, it turns out. Indianapolis Colts fans deserved better. The team hasn't won an AFC South title since 2014, and this year was finally going to be the year. A 7-1 start implied greatness.
Instead, Indy had a historic fall. Not since the team expanded to a 17-game schedule in 2021 (which allows a team to start well, and still not make the postseason) had a team begun 7-1 and not made the playoffs. Only five teams since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 had started a season as successfully as the Colts and not made the playoffs.
Indianapolis made it six. In other words, there is seemingly only bad news to go around. A victory in Week 18 against the Houston Texans appears unlikely, meaning the team would have lost its last seven games. Multiple key players are hurt. So much doom.
Adam Schefter believes the Indianapolis Colts re-sign Daniel Jones
Thankfully, ESPN's NFL insider Adam Schefter temporarily changed the narrative while being a guest on the Pat McAfee Show a day after Indy lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17. As all Colts fans know, after the trade to acquire cornerback Sauce Gardner, Indianapolis has no choice but to try to re-sign Daniel Jones. Schefter believes that happens.
He told former Colts punter McAfee, "I think the Colts are banking on Daniel Jones being back, and I do think that they'll re-sign him...I think that he will be ready for the start of the season."
So, that's not one bit of good news, but two. Not only will the Indianapolis Colts re-sign Daniel Jones, but he should be ready to play by the beginning of next season, even though he tore his Achilles tendon in Week 14.
Of course, that means bringing back the quarterback with a multi-year deal (because, let's be real, not offering Jones multiple seasons would be a crime, and make it more likely he signs somewhere else), and then hoping he is ready sooner rather than later, and can stay healthy in the future. The quarterback has had three seasons end early because of various injuries.
Still, we know what a healthy Daniel Jones can do in a Shane Steichen offense, and Steichen needs to return in 2025. He wasn't the problem, as his offense was elite for much of the season. Maybe he will be working under a different general manager than Chris Ballard, but that is a hope for Indianapolis Colts fans for another day.