With the Indianapolis Colts quarterback situation, it gets very complicated. The team has announced that Daniel Jones will be the starter in the 2025 season over Anthony Richardson. And not just a Week 1 tryout, but the entire season.
Head coach Shane Steichen made that proclamation after reports began to surface that Danny Dimes would be QB1. Maybe Steichen truly thinks Jones gives Indy a better chance to win, but in making the move, he has likely doomed the team this season and well beyond.
Jones didn't show in six seasons with the New York Giants that he could be consistently productive and elevate his offense. He plays things far too safe, and doesn't appear to be overly accurate when he does throw the ball deep. He also makes poor decisions on run-pass options.
The Indianapolis Colts starting Daniel Jones does not mean Arch Manning is coming to Indy
Not that Anthony Richardson has ever done anything to prove he could be a good starting quarterback, either. The problem is that starting Jones, with the plan that he should be QB1 for the all of the season, means Indy is giving up on Richardson.
He might still have a year left on his contract after 2025 (with a fifth-year option as a first-round pick, but it would seem ludicrous for the Colts to pick up that option), but if he can't beat out Jones now, why would the team hope he would be good in 2026? The assumption by Indianapolis is that Jones will be good, so the team should assume he will be re-signed.
Or maybe there is a larger plan afoot. Fans might speculate as much. Maybe the Colts are looking toward the 2026 NFL draft to fix their long-term QB problem. There are issues with that, too.
Colts HC Shane Steichen is not planning for this to be a short-term arrangement for Daniel Jones. “He's the starting QB for the season,” Steichen told reporters today. “I don’t want to have a short leash on that.” https://t.co/Sl29DWj002
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2025
That implies that Daniel Jones isn't going to be good this season, and the team might know that as well. To get a quarterback high in the NFL draft, a team has to have a bad record. There obviously isn't a plan by Indy to start Danny Dimes just so the team is bad. That's unfair to fans and to the rest of the roster.
It also doesn't say a lot about Steichen's job security. In fact, Steichen, assuming the decision to play Jones over Richardson was mostly his, probably doomed himself with the decision either way. Jones is unlikely to be much better than he ever has been.
Perhaps there is hope that Jones will become the next Sam Darnold. The problem there is that Darnold worked with Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, and Steichen is not the coach O'Connell is.
Some might also think that Indy is tanking for University of Texas quarterback Arch Manning. First of all, 99 percent of teams don't intentionally tank, and the Colts won't do that.
Secondly, Manning might be available to enter the 2026 draft, but he won't. His family has already said he wouldn't do that, and his uncles, Indianapolis Colts legend Peyton Manning and former Giants quarterback Eli Manning, chose to stay in school, too.
Moreover, Arch Manning doesn't need to leave college early. He gets enough NIL money being QB1 at Texas, and that probably rivals an NFL rookie contract in Year One. His family also has enough money with Arch is not going to feel driven to leave Texas.
What has happened by the Colts making Daniel Jones the starter is destroyed any remaining confidence in Anthony Richardson, not made the team any better, and with a less promising future, and probably ended Shane Steichen's job. 2025 is looking like an ugly season.