The Indianapolis Colts did what they had to do this offseason. On paper, bringing back Daniel Jones made perfect sense; he had played well for more than half a season, and the team seemed to have the right pieces in place around him.
Nine games into the regular season, it's become painfully evident that bringing him back was a mistake. That's why, with the season already looking like a waste, watching them hold on to him instead of trading him to the Minnesota Vikings at the deadline is just impossible to explain.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Vikings reached out to the Colts to try to reunite with Jones, but to no avail. Instead, they landed Kirk Cousins for a 2027 third-round pick that would've been of great help to the Colts' rebuild.
The Indianapolis Colts are making a huge mistake with Daniel Jones
The most frustrating part about this decision is that there's no guarantee that Jones will be there after this season. This team will most definitely fire Shane Steichen, and with Chris Ballard no longer in the picture, who's to say the new regime will want him? Why would they, with how much he's struggled this season?
Jones may have all the physical traits to be a good quarterback and all, but he's midway through his eighth season in the league; it's not like he's a work in progress or a project to develop. This is who he is, and the harsh truth is that he's been abysmal way more often than he's been good.
The Colts are basically keeping him either to hold them back again for another year or to cut ties with him after the season. How does that help an organization with no first-round pick, no general manager, and no clear plan for the future after losing Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner? That's just terrible asset management.
Even if the Colts don't have an incentive to tank because they don't own their first-round pick, Daniel Jones isn't helping them win. He's not the only reason for their struggles, but he's actually contributed more to their losses than to their wins this season. That's just a fact.
This regime might be done with Anthony Richardson Sr., and they definitely have more than enough reasons to be skeptical. But how much worse would the team have been for the final eight games of the season with him under center? Would it be that different from what we're seeing right now?
It was almost impossible to believe that someone would be even slightly interested in trading for Jones, let alone give up draft capital for him, given how much he's struggled. It was a golden opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime type of deal, and the Colts still decided to keep him.
Sometimes, it's impossible to understand why an organization can't get over the hump. For other teams, these are the types of decisions anyone can point to and realize why they've missed the playoffs for half a decade now.
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