QB Daniel Jones eager to be full participant in practice, meanwhile Colts continue to play it safe

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Daniel Jones laughed Tuesday when he told reporters he had asked the Indianapolis Colts to let him rejoin full team activities this week.

Coach Shane Steichen is playing it safe — for now.

So Indy's starting quarterback has been relegated to a second straight week of position group drills and seven-on-seven work as he continues to recover from a torn right Achilles tendon. No, it's not a setback, it's the plan.

“I asked, but yeah, I think right now it’s seven-on-seven,” Jones said. “I think I’m closer. I think there’s still work to be done. I wouldn’t say I’m all the way there at this point. So yeah, I mean I feel good about where I am, and kind of where the rehab is taking me to this point. I've still (got) work to do and still got to make some progress, but I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

For now, that will have to suffice for Jones.

Yes, Steichen continues to say he expects Jones to be a full go sometime during training camp, which begins next month. The target remains having Jones cleared to start the Sept. 13 season opener against Baltimore.

It's still a pretty speedy timeline for an injury that often requires nine to 12 months of rehab to be fully recovered. Jones was injured Dec. 7 in a loss at Jacksonville, the second loss in a season-ending seven-game skid which kept the Colts out of the playoffs.

But as some athletes in recent years have returned on the earlier end of the timeframe, the Colts figure since it's only June there's no need to rush Jones or anyone else back.

“Very happy with his progress. I mean, he’s hitting all his landmarks each and every week, every day, putting in the work, but he’s feeling good,” Steichen said. “It was good to get him out there last week in seven-on-seven. Do it again this week. Then, I know he’ll work tirelessly this summer to be ready for training camp.”

Steichen said everyone made it to town for this week's workouts, though some players such as receiver Alec Pierce and Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner are not practicing because of recent surgeries.

Anthony Richardson, who is fighting to remain Jones' backup, also was on the field and again split snaps with second-year quarterback Riley Leonard. The Colts also have signed free agent Easton Stick, who worked with Steichen when they were both with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Much has changed for Jones over the past 15 months.

After signing a one-year, $14 million contract in March 2014 and then beating out Richardson for the starting job last summer, Jones seemed poised to cash in after leading the Colts to a 7-2 mark behind a historic nine-game run for the offense. Jones was so good, he entered the MVP debate almost exactly one year after the New York Giants released their former starter who was drafted No. 6 overall in 2019.

But Jones wasn't the same following Indy's bye as he tried to play through a broken bone in his left leg. Then came the season-ending Achilles tendon injury, the long losing streak and a lengthy road back.

Still, the Colts went all-in, signing him to a two-year deal worth up to $100 million in March — a move that cemented his place ahead of Richardson on the depth chart. Richardson was the No. 4 overall pick in 2023.

The question now is the same as it was back in March when Jones returned to the Colts: How far along is his rehab?

“It’s slow to start, but then once you reach certain points, it ramps up pretty quickly,” Jones said as he enters what he hopes are the last steps in rehab. "I feel good about a lot of movements, but really, hitting top, top speed I think that’s where your last step is, which I think makes sense.”

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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) speaks before the NFL football team's practice in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapoilis Colts CEO and co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon watches during the NFL football team's practice in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) throws during the NFL football team's practice in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. (5) throws during the NFL football team's practice in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) throws during the NFL football team's practice in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

MCKINNEY, Texas (AP) — A Texas teenager who fatally stabbed a 17-year-old track athlete from a rival team during a competition was convicted of murder Tuesday in a trial that drew attention far beyond the booming Dallas suburb where the two students attended different high schools.

A jury rejected Karmelo Anthony’s claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in stadium bleachers last year. Most people who testified were students who described a heated exchange over Anthony's refusal on a rainy spring day to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf's team.

Anthony, now 19, did not testify at trial and faces up to life in prison after a sentencing hearing in which his mother was the only witness. His lawyer had an arm around him when the guilty verdict was announced.

Notoriety about the case spread, in part, because of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Lawyers on both sides, however, told jurors that the tragedy had nothing to do with race.

Jurors, who deliberated for less than three hours, had the option of a lesser charge, manslaughter, but didn’t choose it. The same jury will determine the sentence.

“He’s very sorry for what he did. Please, have mercy on my son,” Anthony's mother, Kala Hayes, pleaded to jurors shortly after the guilty verdict.

Earlier Tuesday, jurors heard dueling narratives from prosecutor Bill Wirskye and defense attorney Mike Howard about what happened in April 2025.

Several schools were competing when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.

Howard told jurors during his closing argument that Metcalf had “no legal right to put his hands on Karmelo.”

“Texas law does not require that you wait until you get hit,” Howard said. “In that split second of chaos, you must put yourself in his shoes.”

During the nearly weeklong trial, prosecutors said that Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses have testified that Anthony was the aggressor.

“This is not self-defense, folks. It’s murder plain and simple,” Wirskye said.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest. The teens, both from Frisco, didn't know each other.

“You don’t get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove,” Wirskye said.

The prosecutor also made a broader pitch to the jury: “Ultimately, this case is about accountability. What kind of community do you want to live in.”

The trial drew lines of spectators hoping to find seats in the gallery and unfolded amid heavy security at the Collin County courthouse. As police officers watched Tuesday, dozens of people stood outside the courthouse in 90 degree Fahrenheit heat (32 degrees Celsius) to await the verdict. There were wails of grief from one woman — “This isn’t real!” — when the result became known.

Frisco is one of Texas’ fastest-growing cities that is dotted with dozens of modern school campuses and gleaming athletic facilities.

Several students testified that Metcalf, after ordering Anthony to leave his team’s tent, scoffed before Anthony reached into a bag and pulled out a knife.

One teen recalled Metcalf telling Anthony, “You don’t have anything in that backpack. It’s Frisco.”

The parents of Anthony and Metcalf have said they were good students who planned to go to college.

Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

A crowd gathers by Collin County Sheriffs vehicles parke in front of the Collin County courthouse after the Karmelo Anthony verdict was reached Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

An Austin Metcalf supporter holds a sign as law enfrocement officilals walk past in front of the Collin County courthouse following the verdict in the trial was reached Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Karmelo Anthony supporters voice their opinions in front of the Collin County courthouse after a verdict was reached Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

An emotional Karmelo Anthony supporter is consoled by another outside the Collin County courthouse after the verdict was reached in the trial Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Law enforcement officials stand in front of the Collin County courthouse after the verdict was reached in the Karmelo Anthony trial Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

A person walks around announcing the guilty verdict in the Karmelo Anthony trial in front of the Collin County courthouse, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Supporters for Karmelo Anthony demonstrate in front of the Collin County courthouse Thursday, June 4, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

A Collin County seriff drives past the front of the county courthouse Thursday, June 4, 2026, in McKinney, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)