Indianapolis Colts fans had a right to be confused. The team was fresh off its bye week this season, and suddenly, quarterback Daniel Jones was on the injury report. He wasn't before the team's last game in Week 10, so what happened while the team wasn't playing?
As it turns out, Jones was injured at least during Week 10. He broke his fibula. Jones played through the pain until he couldn't. He tore his Achilles tendon in Week 14. Did his broken fibula lead to the torn Achilles, as maybe he tried to avoid one injury while leading to another? No one is likely to ever say or know.
According to Indy wide receiver Michael Pittman, Jones' fibula break wasn't a slight fracture; it was a major break. The quarterback proved his toughness by playing through the pain, but should he have had to? Another team might have forced the quarterback to sit to avoid a potentially worse injury.
Michael Pittman implies the Indianapolis Colts knew how grave Daniel Jones' broken fibula was
Pittman didn't say as much in speaking to reporters during media week ahead of the Seattle Seahawks playing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, but he didn't need to. It was what he didn't say that should be the scary part.
The wide receiver said, "I don't know a lot of guys that can play through a broken leg. Like it wasn't just - I might be saying too much - it was really broken. Nothing light. I've seen those scans, and I was like, 'Oh, s***.' He's a tough guy, and we definitely need that."
It's the "might be saying too much" that is so damning. A player being "tough" is great, but a team knowingly allowing a player to participate in a game when he might get even more injured, or shouldn't be playing in at all, is cringeworthy. This is especially true for a team that was getting more desperate for victories after starting 7-1.
The NFL could look into how the Indianapolis Colts handled the Daniel Jones injury, and how it risked him being further hurt. The NFLPA might be interested in taking a look. Ultimately, while Jones had a $14 million contract he wanted to uphold, he might have affected his future income by playing with such a bad injury.
Daniel Jones would probably never admit to being so injured. He was busy trying to prove to the NFL that he could truly be a very good starting quarterback. He is now a free agent, though, and one might wonder how the Indianapolis Colts handled his injury, if that will affect his potentially re-signing with the team.