The Indianapolis Colts’ worst fears have been realized. Starting quarterback Daniel Jones will miss the rest of the 2025 season with a torn right Achilles, coach Shane Steichen announced on Monday. Jones suffered the non-contact injury at the end of the first quarter of Sunday’s 36-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The loss of Jones deals a major blow to the Colts’ already dwindling playoff hopes. Following Sunday’s defeat, which was their third straight loss, the Colts’ odds to make the playoffs dropped to 30 percent, per The Athletic’s NFL Playoff Simulator, powered by Austin Mock’s NFL Projection Model. Their odds to win the AFC South for the first time since 2014 have plummeted to 3 percent.
That’s the Colts’ new reality without a proven backup to replace Jones under center.
With 2023 No. 4 pick Anthony Richardson Sr. still on injured reserve due to the orbital fracture he suffered during a pregame warmup accident in Week 6, the Colts will likely be forced to put their season in the hands of sixth-round rookie Riley Leonard.
That’s the hope anyway. Leonard is dealing with right knee soreness, Steichen said, which puts the QB’s status for next Sunday’s game in Seattle in jeopardy. The only other QB on the Colts roster is 29-year-old Brett Rypien, who is 2-2 as a starter with four TDs against nine picks in 11 games.
Leonard was solid in his extended run Sunday in Jacksonville, at least given the challenging circumstances. The rookie finished the game 18-of-29 passing for 145 yards with one interception. He also added a 6-yard rushing TD for his first NFL score.
“I think the biggest thing (Sunday) for me was just to walk off to the sidelines and have guys like (star left guard) Quenton Nelson come up to me and say he believes in me,” Leonard said, describing the nerves of replacing Jones. “Everybody on the sideline was just very supportive. So, that’s always good for a rookie quarterback who went into the season as a third-stringer. You start taking odds into the equation, there’s a small probability that you’ll play — nevertheless, have the potential to start.”
Before Sunday, the Notre Dame product had logged just six snaps and two pass attempts (zero completions).
“(With) more reps, obviously, the better it’s gonna be,” wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. “Coming into this game, I could probably count on my hand how many first-team reps that Riley’s taken. So, just the fact he was able to fill in and play well shows the potential in him, and we’re just gonna try to support him every way we can.”
But asking a late-round rookie to save Indianapolis’ season is still a tall order, especially considering the treacherous stretch that awaits. The Colts will head to Seattle next week to face the 10-3 Seahawks before hosting the 9-4 San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football” in Week 16. Indianapolis will close its season with back-to-back AFC South matchups against the 9-4 Jaguars at home and the 8-5 Houston Texans on the road.
As Leonard tries to keep the Colts afloat, Jones’ season-ending injury has implications that stretch beyond 2025. After starting the year 7-1, the Colts went all in on this campaign, trading wide receiver AD Mitchell and their next two first-round picks to the New York Jets in exchange for two-time, first-team All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. Indy general manager Chris Ballard and principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon never would have green-lighted that deal if they didn’t fully believe in Jones and expect him to return as the team’s starter next season — either on a new long-term contract or the franchise tag.
Now, nothing is certain. Jones was playing on a one-year, $14 million deal, and a ruptured Achilles this late in 2025 significantly jeopardizes his ability to play in 2026. The 28-year-old already has a long injury history that includes the fractured left fibula he was playing through in recent weeks, a torn ACL in 2023 and neck injuries in 2021 and 2023, among other ailments. Jones’ durability issues could make the Colts, and other teams for that matter, hesitant to tie their immediate future to him.
This is a nightmare scenario for Jones, who had quickly revitalized his career in Indianapolis. The former New York Giants castoff thrust himself into the MVP conversation amid the Colts’ 7-1 start with 13 touchdown passes against three interceptions, plus four rushing TDs. Jones tapered off over the last month as Indy’s once high-powered offense sputtered, but he still seemed to have positioned himself as the face of the team’s future. That future is no longer a formality.
The Colts will still have Richardson under contract in 2026, but after losing the starting job to Jones in training camp, it seemed like his days in Indianapolis were numbered. Would the Colts stand pat and be willing to give Richardson a chance to compete with Leonard for the QB1 title next season? Or will they look for another stopgap veteran and hope he can be as successful as Jones was in this offense?
These are the questions the Colts will be asking themselves in the coming months. The answers may be hard to find.
