Looking to bounce back after a rocky final run with the New York Giants, Daniel Jones is looking to shake up the depth chart on the Indianapolis Colts.
Once viewed as a franchise quarterback, Jones is on a new team and assumed to be the backup quarterback to Indianapolis' 2023 first-round pick, Anthony Richardson.
However, a combination of struggles and injuries has added a lot of doubt to Richardson's standing as the true franchise quarterback in Indy. For Jones, there's an opportunity at hand to potentially win a starting job once again.
One bold prediction from ESPN's Eric Karabell warned NFL fans and fantasy football participants not to be "surprised" if Jones starts more games than Richardson in 2025.
"Honestly, how much more convincing do you need that Richardson is not the answer in Indianapolis?" Karabell wrote.
"He missed half the games due to injury during his first two seasons, and he wasn't exactly a polished passer when he played. There is little question the tantalizing Richardson can run, but he can't stay on the field. Jones isn't exactly awesome or durable, either, so this is a mess [fantasy owners] must avoid."
When thinking about Daniel Jones, Giants fans would probably point to the 2022 NFL season to recall it as their best memory of the former Duke quarterback. He played in 16 games for the first and only time, and threw for a career-high 3,205 yards. Jones finished the year with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.
On the ground, the veteran quarterback rushed 120 times for 708 yards and seven touchdowns. The Giants made it to the playoffs with a 9-6-1 record and even won their first-round matchup. The 2022 playoff run ended against the Super Bowl-bound Philadelphia Eagles in round two.
Since then, the Giants haven't been back in the playoffs. Jones played in six games in 2023, achieving a 1-5 record while throwing just two touchdowns and six interceptions. Last year, Jones' bounce-back effort finished early. He was benched 10 games into the season after throwing just eight touchdowns to seven interceptions, and achieving a 2-8 record throughout that stretch.
The Colts brought Jones in to get a legitimate look as a starter. As a franchise, the Colts can only hope that their third-year veteran can beat out the guy who was benched and cut from his team one year ago. So far, that plan is off track.
Richardson suffered a setback recently, which gave Jones an opportunity to get more run at minicamp this past week. While the assumption is that Richardson should be recovered by camp, his team can't be so sure. The Colts have a quarterback battle queued up, and Jones seems to be really posing a threat early on.
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This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 9:35 AM.