INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Daniel Jones spent his entire offseason rehabbing, letting his agents deal with the business side of football.
On Thursday, almost exactly four months after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon in a loss at Jacksonville, Jones returned to the Indianapolis Colts team complex with a new two-year contract worth up to $100 million and a promising timetable for his return to play — the 2026 regular-season opener.
“I’m very confident in being back to 100% and ready to go,” he said. “I’m in a good spot, I’m on schedule. I think from everything the doctors are telling me — trainers, rehab, physical therapists — I think I’m in a good spot. I’ve hit my marks and just have to continue to do that."
The prognosis couldn't be any brighter for Indy.
Jones outplayed the one-year, prove-it deal Indy gave him last March when the Minnesota Vikings let him test free agency after adding the 2019 first-round pick when the New York Giants released him during the 2024 season.
He didn't disappoint with the Colts. Over the first 10 weeks, Jones resuscitated his career by delivering on the potential the Giants saw in him when they drafted him No. 6 overall, leading the Colts to an 8-2 mark.
But Jones struggled to play through a hairline fracture in his left leg and then suffered the season-ending Achilles injury in early December. The result: Indy lost its final seven games and missed the playoffs for a fifth straight season as uncertainty hung over yet another round of free agency for the former Duke star.
And yet as questions loomed over how much the injury could deflate Jones' payday and negotiations continued with the Colts, Indy's decision-makers never wavered in their belief they wanted to pair Jones and free agent receiver Alec Pierce for a second consecutive season in 2026.
The first part of the equation came Monday when Pierce agreed to a four-year, $116 million deal, admittedly taking less than was offered elsewhere so he could keep working with Jones. The second part was completed Tuesday when Jones also agreed to return, eliminating the need for Indy putting the transition tag on Jones last week.
“I just think the way he prepares, how he's built, I think in the long run Daniel is going to be perfectly fine,” general manager Chris Ballard said during the NFL scouting combine in Indy. “Daniel and Alec are such big pieces. Everybody's got a budget. We've got a cap we have to deal with, so I don't know if it's a run-it-back situation, but we're going to make the team the best we can.”
Those two moves allowed Ballard to continue filling other holes, primarily on a defense that he has indicated must get younger, faster and stouter.
That work began Saturday when Ballard traded Pro Bowl linebacker Zaire Franklin to Green Bay for defensive tackle Colby Wooden and continued in the lead up to the official start of free agency. Indy signed former Tennessee Titans defensive end Arden Key to a two-year contract with the hope Key can help improve the pass rush opposite third-year defensive end Laiatu Latu.
Indy also signed former New York Jets defensive tackle Micheal Clemons to a two-year deal. Wooden and Key were also introduced publicly Thursday, and Key described the challenge Indy's offense posed when he played it twice a year with the Titans.
Now, with Jones and Pierce back, the Colts think their offense may only get better.
“We're confident because I think we've seen what we could be," Jones said. “But there's a high sense of urgency to get back to doing that and doing that consistently, week after week throughout the season.”
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FILE - Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Colby Wooden (96) jogs off the field after warm-ups before an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)
