As all Indianapolis Colts fans know by now, the team has placed the transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones. Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant doesn't appear to be an Indy fan, but he knows enough to understand Indy might be on the precipice of disaster with the QB.
Bryant was reacting on social media to the news that Jones and the Colts were nowhere near agreeing to a new contract before the tag was applied. This fact likely hasn't changed even with the tag. In fact, general manager Chris Ballard might have compounded the problem by applying the transition tag instead of the franchise tag, which would have almost certainly kept the QB in Indy.
With the transition tag, Jones is still free to work out a new deal with a new team while Indianapolis has the right of first refusal. The risk is that the amount agreed to could exceed the nearly $33 million that the franchise tag would have paid. Another team knows this and could force Indy into an uncomfortable financial position.
Dez Bryant seems to understand Daniel Jones' value more than the Indianapolis Colts
Ballard could have potentially ended this drama months ago. He could have gone to Jones' agent and proactively worked out a new contract, or at least the bones of one. Instead, as he often does, Ballard waited to see what would happen. He is still waiting as Jones will have the opportunity to see what other teams offer.
Should the quarterback agree to a too-expensive deal for Indianapolis, the Colts will get nothing in return. Had they applied the franchise tag and Jones left, Indy would have received the equivalent of two first-round picks.
Dez Bryant, apparently fully aware of the potential chaos of the Colts losing Jones, wrote on X, "Eye tests don’t lie...Daniel Jones is your guy! He’s your franchise QB (Colts), don’t get cute and (expletive) up something that has a lot of upside."
Well, the Indianapolis Colts are just a week away from potentially (expletive) up a move that should have been made months ago. Sure, Indy can match any offer made to the quarterback, but the team's leverage for the quarterback ends there. If anything, Jones has to be happy with the transition tag. He knows, at worst, that he will be paid the tag amount of $37,833,000, a huge raise over 2025.
As other teams know that is the floor to their offer, they have a bit of freedom as well. A QB-needy team like the Pittsburgh Steelers could up the ante quite a bit. The worst part for the Colts is that they have no Plan B.
After trading their next two first-round draft picks during the season for cornerback Sauce Gardner, they were also going all-in on Daniel Jones. Because of that, the transition tag isn't enough. The franchise tag, for just $6 million more, would have been.
The risk is that Jones won't be available at the start of next season due to a torn Achilles tendon in Week 14, but that wasn't ever going to be a problem for Indy because of the Gardner trade. Ballard left himself no way out. Should Jones be allowed to leave, the general manager should be fired.