According to NFL Insider Tom Pelissero, while they’ve received inquiries from other teams, the Indianapolis Colts are not considering trading starting quarterback Daniel Jones ahead of next Tuesday’s trade deadline:
In particular, the Minnesota Vikings, who have also been connected as a suitor for star Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, have been linked to a potential reunion with Jones ahead of the league’s trade deadline.
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Incumbent starter Kyler Murray has been battling a ‘Grade 2’ hamstring strain that will keep him out at least a few weeks and hasn’t been all that effective during his debut campaign in Minnesota regardless.
After being previously benched and released by the New York Giants in November of 2024, Jones was initially signed to the Vikings practice squad before being elevated to their active 53-man roster later that same season as one of the team’s backups behind entrenched starter Sam Darnold.
Even though his stint in Minnesota was brief, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was impressed enough with Jones that they were the Colts’ primary competition to sign him during his ensuing 2025 free agency.
With Darnold having signed with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, but former 2024 10th overall J.J. McCarthy in the fold in Minnesota, Jones elected to join Shane Steichen in Indianapolis and battle Anthony Richardson Sr. for the Colts QB1 job instead. Jones would ultimately beat out Richardson for Indy’s starting quarterback job two offseasons ago, and the rest remains history in Indianapolis.
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That being said coming off a 2025 season-ending torn Achilles, Jones has clearly struggled during his second season with the Colts in 2026. He’s completed 162 of 268 pass attempts (60.4% completion rate), 1,542 total passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, and 9 interceptions during all 8 starts.
He hasn’t been nearly as explosive running the football, and his ability to plant and drive on his throws have both significantly declined from the quarterback that led the Colts to an 8-2 record near midseason of last year. His pocket presence isn’t as confident either, and he’s not handling blitzes well,so there’s also a mental side of it too.
With Steichen looking increasing unlikely to be retained at year-end, and Jones likely joining him in NFL unemployment as a cap cut this upcoming offseason, it doesn’t make sense to me as to why the Colts wouldn’t look to clear some of his salary cap off the books, as Jones has a $10.51M injury guarantee for next year (that becomes fully guaranteed on March 15th if he remains on the Colts roster), while also potentially acquiring a ‘Day 3’ draft pick in the process.
