The Indianapolis Colts seemingly couldn't have things get worse as far as injuries in 2025. The team had lost cornerback Sauce Gardner just a few weeks after trading for him, and the defense has struggled with being hurt all year. Then Week 14 happened.
To be fair, Indy might have been risking Daniel Jones to further injury by letting him keep playing even though he had broken his left fibula. When players are injured, they have to make up for that by putting pressure on other parts of their bodies. Against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the quarterback tore his Achilles tendon on his right leg.
Was that injury due to him making up for the broken fibula? Maybe not, but the question could be asked.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen speaks the obvious about Daniel Jones
As far as how long Jones will be out, head coach Shane Steichen didn't deliver any positivity in his postgame comments. The coach said the issue "could be season-ending," and that the possibility of his return in 2025 was "not looking good."
Steichen is nothing but obvious in his summation of players' injuries. The truth is that almost all Colts fans likely assumed Daniel Jones was done for the season after he fell to the ground with a non-contact injury and then threw his helmet on the ground. No words needed to be said; the quarterback's actions said everything.
Two things could be the truth in this situation. One is that Indianapolis very likely could be guilty of playing Daniel Jones when they shouldn't have, as his initial issue (the broken fibula) might have led to the Achilles problem. Still, the team and doctors cleared the quarterback to play, and Jones wanted to.
It is difficult to tell a player they can't if doctors are saying they could. Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard should have taken a strong stance to sit the quarterback, though.
The other truth is that, as promising as the Indianapolis Colts' season was through the first eight games, hopes of a playoff run and success once in the postseason are likely gone. Beating the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, and Jaguars appears extremely unlikely if Daniel Jones isn't playing.
The season now rests on quarterback Riley Leonard's shoulders. He wasn't awful after replacing Jones in Week 14 against the Jaguars, but the defenses of Seattle, San Francisco, and Houston might not be so forgiving.