Seemingly out of nowhere, and after a bye week, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was listed on the injury report as a limited participant on Thursday with a calf issue. The good part is that he was only limited, but this did come after being a full participant on Wednesday.
Chances are that Jones will play against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. What isn't known is how bad the problem is. Jones having some mobility is important. Sure, he can be brilliant in the pocket, but his versatility to throw and run is something opposing defensive coordinators have to take into consideration when game-planning.
The Colts will release their final injury report on Friday, and to be fair, no one wants Riley Leonard to have to start against a wise Chiefs defense. This would only happen if Jones cannot play, of course. Most likely, if Jones has any designation at all, it will be questionable.
One move the Indianapolis Colts could do might imply how healthy Daniel Jones is
But Indy is going to give a lot of information about their starting quarterback because that only helps Kansas City. The real indication of how healthy QB1 is might be implied by one unsung move the team makes.
True QB2 Anthony Richardson is on injured reserve after suffering a freak orbital bone break, so he certainly won't play. Leonard will be Jones' backup. But if Indy is really concerned about Jones, the team will elevate practice squad quarterback Brett Rypien to the active roster and make him active for Week 12.
Rypen could be QB3 during Week 12 anyway, but remain inactive. He would stand on the sidelines and be available should Jones and Leonard be injured during the game. Every NFL team can do this now as the league doesn't want two quarterbacks to get hurt and then a running back replace them.
The difference will be if Rypien is active, assuming Daniel Jones plays. Jones will hopefully be just fine, tossing his dimes the way he was in the first eight games of the season, and giving the ball to elite running back Jonathan Taylor. Jones doesn't have to do everything.
Still, no one wants to see what the drop off would be from Daniel Jones to Riley Leonard and Brett Rypien. It's likely quite precipitous. The Indianapolis Colts can win any game with Jones. The team might not be able to win any with Leonard or Rypien getting valuable snaps.