One outlet says the Indianapolis Colts have been forced into gambling on a bottom-10 NFL quarterback situation.
The Indianapolis Colts are considered to be all in on the 2026 season after owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon publicly stated that the urgency to win has never been higher following last year's fifth consecutive playoff-less season.
As a result, the Colts find themselves chasing what they had in the first half of 2025, when they began the season 8-2, and the offense was operating at a historic pace. Quarterback Daniel Jones had resurrected his career and reclaimed legitimacy before a fractured fibula curtailed his performance, and then a ruptured Achilles ultimately ended his season in Week 14.
In an attempt to keep the best parts of 2025 in place, the Colts re-signed Jones to a two-year, $88 million contract this offseason. Not everyone is sold, though.
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report recently declared the 10 worst quarterback situations in the NFL, and he ranked the Colts as the eighth worst, ahead of only the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Jets.
According to Gagnon, why is the Colts' QB situation "bad?"
"Daniel Jones is now a highly-paid, injured, potential less-than-one-year-wonder, while Anthony Richardson has been such a bust that they're paying Jones $44 million a year anyway."
What's the silver lining?
"The 28-year-old Jones was a No. 6 overall pick and performed extremely well for a large portion of the 2025 season. Richardson was a No. 4 overall pick and is still only 23 years old."
What's the outlook?
"We don't even know if Jones will recover from a torn Achilles in time for the start of the 2026 season. The reality is, he has a career passer rating of 86.6 over seven NFL seasons. It's fair to say the Colts are gambling, but what choice do they have?"
With Jones, the hope is that he's ready to go by Week 1 for the Colts, with as much training camp and practice time as possible beforehand. Certainly, Jones' mobility will only be a fraction of what it was in 2025, but the Colts know that. If head coach Shane Steichen takes a realistic look at things and tailors the offense to what Jones is physically capable of, they could keep the unit afloat.
As for Richardson, he is on the trade block and may not even be on the team by the time the NFL Draft is finished on April 25. While there's a chance he remains on the roster, it's best to proceed as if he won't be present when the season arrives.
Last year's sixth-round pick, Riley Leonard, surprised many people with his performance last year. With both Jones and Richardson injured, Leonard got two opportunities for extended action, both on the road, against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans. The plan, for now, is for him to drive the ship until Jones is back.