Daniel Jones is going to be your Indianapolis Colts' 2025 starting quarterback. After six failed years with the New York Giants, Danny Dimes gets another chance to fail with a new team. Or was it six bad seasons?
Head coach Shane Steichen doesn't think so. In fact, in his meeting with the media after reports leaked that Jones would be starting over Anthony Richardson, Steichen made a point of saying that despite Jones' horrific record as a starter, there was one year he was decent. That was in 2022.
In other words, Indy's head coach specifically stated that Jones was good in the year before Richardson was drafted. Before then and since then? Meh, but if 2022 is any indication, Jones will be completely...slightly more than mediocre.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen hopes Daniel Jones plays like he did years ago
In Jones's special season, he threw 15 touchdown passes and just five interceptions and had a career-high quarterback rating of 92.5. His number of interceptions based on his number of attempts was the lowest in the league. Say what you will about Jones, but he doesn't turn the ball over.
He also doesn't take big risks. His yards per attempt were 24th. This means that Jones was checking down a lot, which explains his lack of interceptions and his relatively low touchdown total. The brutal truth is that even though Jones was a full-time starter for the New York Giants from 2019 through 2022, his second-highest total of touchdown passes was only 15.
What the Colts are hoping happens is that the team has a quarterback behind center who isn't going to steal a loss from the jaws of victory. Indianapolis's overall roster is pretty good, and as long as the quarterback doesn't mess things up, the team could make a run for the postseason.
I asked Shane Steichen why he believes the #Colts can win with Daniel Jones when he’s 24-44-1 as a starter and 3-13 over the last two years:
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) August 19, 2025
“Well, I think that he’s proven that he’s played good football in that 2022 season (playoff berth). He had a hell of a year that year. …” pic.twitter.com/c2tyDUEp8F
Anthony Richardson might be the guy who messes things up. Daniel Jones is much safer and will try to get the ball more to Indy's abundance of offensive weapons. Not deep down the field, mind you, but just to keep the chains moving.
The defense should be very good, and the Indianapolis Colts are probably planning on playing a lot of close games. Jones could just be the quarterback who doesn't lose the team games. And if he plays anything like 2022, then even better.
Daniel Jones is not going to excite a lot of national pundits by becoming the starter for the Colts. That doesn't matter. Winning games matters. And maybe Jones surprises everyone in 2025 just as he did three years ago.