Daniel Jones has been aiming to get back in full by Week 1 for the Indianapolis Colts. He tore his Achilles tendon in Week 14 last season, and the expectation was that he would be out 9-12 months. If he comes back to start the season, that will be the earliest of that timeline.
The quarterback has talked a good game this past offseason. He has claimed to be meeting goals that he needs to hit to allow him to play. In a social media post from The Athletic's James Boyd, Jones doubled down on that recently at a local event for youth sports.
"I'm feeling good," Jones said. "I think I've made a good bit of progress since minicamp. We'll continue to do that the next two weeks before camp and through camp. But I'm feeling really good, and I think I'm in a good spot... I've gotten together with (the skill position players) in spurts (this offseason). We're going to get together actually this week in kind of a bigger group and work out a little bit."
Indianapolis Colts' Daniel Jones appears ready to return to full play soon
He added, "(I'm) still thinking about (the Achilles tendon). I think (I) probably will until (I) get playing into games."
A key part of that is Jones getting other players together away from team facilities in order to do some light workouts. That indicates he truly does feel much better physically, so much so that he is willing to risk getting hurt again, but knowing that the gamble is fairly low.
An Achilles tendon can be torn with quick movement, of course, but once injured, it can cause constant pain. Jones is obviously well past that part, which implies his recovery has been exceedingly quick, and this seems to make it clear that he won't miss any of the regular season unless he suffers a different injury.
None of that is cemented, though. Both the team and the players should have too much at stake to rush him back until he is 100 percent ready to be. In the offseason, the Colts gave Jones a two-year deal for as much as $88 million. Indy wouldn't want to throw that money away by having a player return from injury too soon.
For Jones, while his new contract pays him great money, the length of the contract isn't long. If he wants to earn his next deal, he needs to play well while staying healthier than he has in the past. Last season was the third year he has had cut short because of one injury or another.
If he can do well for the Indianapolis Colts, both with his own statistics as well as leading the team to its first playoff appearance since 2020, and be available for nearly every game, his next deal will be even bigger.
Daniel Jones is only 29 years old and could be playing in the NFL for many more years. If he's great in 2026 and the team is too, let's hope Jones remains QB1 in Indy for the foreseeable future. He's certainly ready to prove he is all the way back.
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