The Indianapolis Colts have been in quarterback purgatory since 2019 when Andrew Luck suddenly retired and they're hoping that Daniel Jones or Anthony Richardson can help them win games in 2025. Unfortunately, Kevin Patra of NFL.com doesn't believe that Jones is destined to have a successful season this year.
Patra wrote about the projections for quarterbacks who switched teams this offseason and whether they'd put up better numbers or worse numbers than they did a season ago. For Jones, he predicted the former first-round pick of the Giants to have a worse season than he did in 2024.
"Jones' time in New York wasn't pretty, and his scatter-shot passing doesn't promise better results than Richardson, but at least he can say he's won a playoff game in his career. Jones did have brief moments when protected well, showing he could hit targets in stride, and his dual-threat ability was a problem for defenses. Outside of 2022, however, there isn't much to write home about, with a 70:47 career touchdown-to-interception ratio and 50 career fumbles."
It's not shocking that Patra feels this way considering Jones has not shown much during his NFL career. Yes, he had one good season that ended with him winning a playoff game (and helped him get that massive extension from the Giants) but otherwise, he's been incredibly disappointed and the butt of a lot of jokes.
Patra did say that he thought Jones could push Richardson for the starting job. He said that the fact Jones was even brought in means Indianapolis could be ready to punt on the Richardson experiment.
Colts fans hope NFL analyst is dead wrong about QB situation
Truth be told, fans would like Richardson to pan out since the team spent a first-round pick on him and there is clearly potential there. That being said, bringing Jones in shows that the former first-rounder out of Florida is likely on a short leash for the 2025 season.
If Jones does manage to beat out Richardson for the starting job, and manages to play well, it wouldn't be a terrible situation to be in. The Colts could move on from Richardson (and likely Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard) and then pick a new quarterback in next year's draft and maybe even lean on Jones for another year if he played well.
If Patra is correct here, however, then the Colts will once again be hitting the reset button on the quarterback position. They'd be drafting a new quarterback and then finding another veteran to serve as the backup. After having Luck and Peyton Manning at the QB1 spot for so long, many will say the Colts deserve to be in quarterback purgatory but fans are truly hoping they escape from it soon.