Competition is the name of the game in the Hoosier State.
Daniel Jones has found his third home in his NFL career and is receiving an adequate amount of dimes in the process. The veteran signal caller is finalizing a deal to join Shane Steichen and the Indianapolis Colts, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. When it comes to the nuts and bolts of the deal, ESPN reports that Jones is receiving a one-year, $14 million contract to head to Indy.
The Colts had been one of the more notable suitors for Jones, and the quarterback was reportedly deciding between joining their roster or sticking with the Minnesota Vikings, who he signed with in the middle of last season after being released by the New York Football Giants. With this deal now being finalized, Jones will join a Colts team where he is scheduled to compete with incumbent starter Anthony Richardson.
It has been an up and down year, to say the least, for Jones. After the Giants tried and failed disastrously to select a quarterback atop the 2024 NFL Draft, the franchise stood behind Jones but had him on a short leash as its starter heading into the regular season. After starting the first 10 games of the year with New York and the team dropping to a 2-8 record, Jones was benched unceremoniously for hometown fan favorite Tommy DeVito, and just days later Jones was granted his request to be released, ending his six-year run with the Giants after the team drafted him No. 6 overall out of Duke in 2019.
From there, Jones signed on with the Vikings practice squad and eventually was elevated onto the 53-man active roster. However, Jones never saw the field for the Vikings and merely provided depth to the position group behind Sam Darnold. With Darnold signing a $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks in free agency on Monday, the door did appear to be open for Jones to remain in the ‘Twin City’ as either a bridge quarterback before J.J. McCarthy, the team’s 2024 first-round pick out of the University of Michigan, was ready to take the reins or simply serve as his backup and mentor.
Embed from Getty ImagesInstead, Jones gets a fresh start in Indy where he has a realistic shot at beating out rival Richardson for the starting job. The 2024 campaign was one to forget for Richardson, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Florida, as he was benched midseason due to poor performance and tapping out of a game. He eventually found his way back to the starting job but still struggled with consistency issues in the passing department. In 11 starts last season, Richardson completed an unacceptable 47.7% of his passes.
If Richardson does not turn the tide this summer, that could create an opportunity for Jones to surpass him on the depth chart, which could be a key reason he is opting to join the Colts.
