One of the most polarizing moves the Indianapolis Colts made during free agency was to sign Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones to compete with current QB1 Anthony Richardson for the starting job. While some applauded the move, others opined that it shows there are bigger problems within the Indianapolis organization.
Rob Gronkowski, one of the greatest tight ends of all time, weighed in on the situation in the Dudes on Dudes podcast. To Gronkowski, signing Jones wasn't a mistake, but that didn't mean he was entirely uncritical.
"I think it was, they overpaid a little bit at this position, and it's the Indianapolis Colts signing Daniel Jones to a one-year, $14 million deal," he said. "I mean, I feel like with the way that backup quarterbacks have been getting paid, I feel like it should have been like a $5 million deal, with maybe incentives that can go up to $14 million, $15 million."
He added, "So I think if Daniel Jones does beat out Richardson, then it's a fair deal. But if they brought him in to be the backup to Richardson, I think like a $5 million, $6 million, $7 million deal would have been more efficient, you know, for the Colts compared to these other backup quarterbacks."
The Colts have made it clear that the intention is to have a quarterback battle between Richardson and Jones for QB1 - but even that could lead to problems, Gronkowski said.
"They were the two lowest QBRs in 2024. And I can tell you this, when you got two quarterbacks that are battling, like they were, what they were doing with Richardson and Joe Flacco last year, if they're going to be starting Richardson, some games, if they're going to be, you know, starting Daniel Jones, some games, when you have two quarterbacks, you actually don't have a quarterback, in my opinion," he said. "Like you don't really have a team that's going to be centrally focused on what you're going to do, because you don't know who the guy's going to be. And it's just too much going on, switching guys up, and your game plans are getting switched up."
Gronkowski's take on the situation makes sense, and it is in the best interest of the Colts to have this situation wrapped up and decided before the 2025 season start.