Colts QB Daniel Jones turns to college friends for extra help with injured leg

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones is getting a little more help from his friends.

Seven years after two teammates created a special pad to protect Jones' fracture collarbone, the same duo has done it again, this time to fit over Jones' injured lower left leg. Jones said Wednesday he first wore it in a loss at Kansas City and then again in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans.

“Lucky to have smart friends who are really close friends,” Jones said. "It's pretty low profile and fits to my leg pretty well. I didn't really notice it Sunday."

Jones didn't elaborate much on what the extra padding does exactly other than noting Colts doctors and trainers gave him the approval to wear it.

Former Duke center Clark Bulleit and former Duke linebacker Kevin Gehsmann started the company, Protect3D, to produce custom-printed 3D braces and orthotics that help athletes recover from injuries. They created an app that allows the products to be scanned to mobile phones or tablets and are then printed out. The Durham, North Carolina,-based company also says it works with an advisory board of physicians and trainers that are listed on the website.

Bulleit's initial experience in a 3D-printing lab came one semester at Duke when he was able to work closely with the technology before Jones suffered the collarbone injury in 2018. It allowed him to return after just three weeks, and Colts coach Shane Steichen has no qualms with Jones getting some more help from his former teammates.

“I’m an UNLV guy, I’m not a Duke graduate so nothing against my alma mater — I love my alma mater — but Duke there’s like a high (intelligence) level,” he said. ”I guess it was a couple of players and there were like ‘Hey, what if we do this and create this system?’ and they've been doing good. It's pretty impressive."

But Jones didn't need anyone to help him print out this pad.

“My buddy Kevin actually delivered it to me in Kansas City,” Jones said. “He flew (in) and came to the game, I got to see him afterward.”

Jones continues to maintain he still feels healthy enough to play and has no intention of sitting out Sunday's game at Jacksonville (8-4), a matchup featuring the two teams tied for the AFC South lead.

“I've been cleared to play, and I know it's safe,” he said. “I feel good, I think I'm feeling better every week and continue to be able to do more and more, just being mindful of the injury and doing whatever I can to put the team in position to win.”

Jones' performance has declined over the past month with Indy (8-4) losing three of its past four games, including the Colts' first back-to-back losses of the season. As defenses have put increasingly more pressure on Jones, he has looked less mobile, at times, and has been less accurate completing throws than he was in Indy's first eight games.

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FILE - Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17), wearing a special pad on his lower left leg, throws a pass during an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Zach Bolinger)

FILE - Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, wearing a special pad on his lower left leg, reaches back to hand off the ball during an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga, File)

FILE - Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, wearing a special pad on his lower left leg, runs for a first down against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, wearing a special pad on his lower left leg, looks to the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 10, 2025--

Global TWS shipments reached 92.6 million units in 3Q25, up just 0.33% year-over-year (YoY), according to Omdia’s latest research. Although overall growth was modest, shipments of Open Wireless Stereo (OWS), a type of non-in-ear TWS device, surpassed 10 million units, marking a 69% increase YoY. This growth offset a 4% decline in conventional TWS shipments, which totaled 82 million units.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251209628026/en/

"We're witnessing the democratization of ANC technology at sub-US$25 price points, while premium brands are pivoting from volume wars to value creation," said Omdia Analyst Jack Leathem. "Vendors are focusing on experiences that deepen loyalty rather than on share expansion alone. The market is now diverging along two distinct paths: premium differentiation with top-notch ANC and sound quality supported by AI and health feature integration, and accessible innovation in emerging markets."

Apple remained the global revenue leader despite a 4% shipment decline, capturing around half of all TWS market value through ecosystem strength and premium positioning. Its latest generation AirPods Pro 3 strengthens health tracking through integrated heart-rate sensing, demonstrating how ecosystem stickiness outweighs unit volume in the premium tier. Meanwhile, Xiaomi held second place, achieving triple-digit growth across Latin America and other emerging markets through accelerated feature rollout in the sub-US$50 segment.

"OWS crossing the 10-million-unit quarterly shipment threshold represents more than a milestone - it validates OWS as a legitimate category that is reshaping how consumers think about hearable devices," noted Omdia Research Manager Cynthia Chen. “However, inherent sound quality limitations keep most OWS products concentrated in the US$50-150 mid-range, making it difficult to compete directly with high-end in-ear models.”

Leading vendors are actively pushing ASPs above US$100 to avoid price-led competition, resulting in faster growth than OWS priced under US$100 in 3Q25. Huawei and Shokz lead the advanced OWS segment with contrasting strategies: Shokz focuses on sports and safe listening, while Huawei drives AI-enabled, intelligent experiences through premium hardware integration.

"Open form factor designs that do not enter the ear encounter sound quality limitations compared to conventional TWS, making long-term user retention dependent on delivering ongoing functional benefits beyond initial use," Chen explained. “As a dynamic category, OWS is positioned for rapid growth, particularly as the industry explores new avenues for enhanced features through strong integration with key user scenarios, such as during workouts or in office settings. Emphasizing long-term comfort and innovative AI-enabled features will be essential for sustaining momentum and meeting the evolving demands of consumers.”

The market's structural transformation extends beyond form factors to encompass regional dynamics and technological capabilities. Emerging markets continue to drive volume growth through aggressive pricing and feature democratization, while developed markets increasingly prioritize premium experiences and ecosystem integration. This bifurcation creates opportunities for vendors to pursue parallel strategies across different geographic segments and price tiers.

Omdia forecasts that OWS shipments will reach 40 million units in 2026, representing 10% of the total TWS market. This projection reinforces open-ear audio's strategic importance in reshaping the broader wearable audio landscape as vendors balance traditional performance metrics with emerging user experience priorities. The next phase of market differentiation will center on AI-driven personalization, seamless device ecosystem integration, and sustained comfort-led design innovations that address the evolving demands of an increasingly sophisticated consumer base.

ABOUT OMDIA

Omdia, part of Informa TechTarget, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTGT), is a technology research and advisory group. Our deep knowledge of tech markets grounded in real conversations with industry leaders and hundreds of thousands of data points, make our market intelligence our clients’ strategic advantage. From R&D to ROI, we identify the greatest opportunities and move the industry forward.

Global OWS market shipment, $100+ segment, by top vendors, 3Q25

Global TWS market shipment, 1Q22 to 3Q25