The Indianapolis Colts will have a quarterback question to ask next offseason because Daniel Jones hasn't been good this season. The midseason QB rankings for FanSided reflect that, but there's more to the story.
Jones has never gotten much respect since the early days of his career with the New York Giants. He has been viewed as a game manager at best and a bad quarterback at worst. This season, he's been awful.
He is 29th in the NFL in total QBR (36.4), and that is fitting because that is exactly where he ranks in FanSided's rankings. He has tumbled seven spots since the preseason list, and he could arguably have fallen even farther. After all, Jones is 31st in quarterback rating (68.9).
Indianapolis Colts' Daniel Jones falls in FanSided's updated quarterback rankings
But if being in the 29th spot wasn't bad enough, he is the fourth-ranked quarterback in the AFC South, rightfully behind the Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence (eighth) and the Houston Texans' CJ Stroud (13th), but also behind the Tennessee Titans' Cam Ward (27th).
The number of people voting in FanSided's list was 50, so not a small group. If the majority of those voters were running the Colts, the ranking implies they would rather have Ward than Jones, and Ward hasn't been good in his first two seasons in the league. Both quarterbacks are listed in the category titled "replacement-level starter." Ouch.
Oddly, Anthony Richardson also got a bit of a swipe from the voters. While AR5 has only played part of one quarter in one game this season (which was mop-up duty when Indy was being blown out by the Jags), Richardson dropped 10 spots to No. 56. That seems overly harsh for a quarterback who should be playing more than he is and potentially replacing Daniel Jones.
The truth is that neither Jones nor Richardson should be the organization's long-term QB1. Indianapolis needs a full rebuild, and keeping either of those QBs around is not setting up the team for success.
Richardson is a free agent next offseason and surely won't re-sign with the Colts, as the team didn't give him much of a chance to play in the last two seasons. Jones could be released in the offseason, and Indianapolis would save $38 million. That is a no-brainer.
A lot might depend on whether the team and the new general manager (whoever he or she happens to be) want to keep Shane Steichen as the head coach. Steichen and Jones clearly get along well. If Steichen goes, so should Jones, and vice versa.
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