PALM BEACH, Fla. — Daniel Jones will be splitting the Indianapolis Colts’ No. 1 quarterback reps down the middle with third-year pro Anthony Richardson, head coach Shane Steichen said Monday morning at the NFL Owners’ Meeting.
“It’ll start in the spring,” Steichen said at the AFC coaches’ breakfast at The Breakers Palm Beach. “They’re gonna split the one reps through spring practice and going into training camp. And it’s gonna come down to who’s the most consistent, who’s the most productive will be the starter.”
Everyone knows how it will go from here. Jones inevitably will become Steichen’s Week 1 starter, barring Richardson making a dramatic leap in efficiency during this offseason competition. And that will launch a fascinating concurrent Midwest drama to complement the Giants’ quarterback travails out East.
Russell Wilson in shotgun running Brian Daboll’s offense. Jones in shotgun running Steichen’s offense. Choose your fighter.
“I think if you look at his skill set, he can run the football with the zone read game,” Steichen said of Jones. “He can throw the football, as well. His career completion percentage is 64%, which is pretty good. Has had some production, won a playoff game, high football IQ, really high football IQ. It’s exciting. It’ll be a really good competition.”
Jones, 27, obviously has shortcomings as a player that resulted in his benching, release, signing with Minnesota and eventual free agent move to Indy –with turnovers and decision-making in critical spots high on the list.
But Richardson, 23, walked off the field and basically quit in the middle of a drive last season, saying he was “tired.” The Colts’ 2023 No. 4 overall pick is still building himself from the ground up.
Jones’ competitive streak is the opposite. He has to be told not to lower his head into defenders, and he sometimes still does it.
So it is difficult to see Jones not winning over the Colts’ offensive players quickly to at least buy himself the Week 1 job and a chance to keep it.
Sources say that Vikings players all the way up to and including star receiver Justin Jefferson were impressed with Jones in practice late last season. And Minnesota tried to keep him.
The Colts not only had a one-year, $14 million contract and “a fresh start for him coming into our building,” as Steichen said, though. They also gave him the more obvious opportunity to start games and play.
Steichen and Colts GM Chris Ballard are both under pressure this season to show some results. But Steichen’s pedigree coaching both the Chargers’ Justin Herbert and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts to recent success gives Jones the chance to be the 2025 version of Sam Darnold.
Darnold used a similar opportunity in Minnesota with Kevin O’Connell to resurrect his career and land a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Giants have it bad enough already by letting Saquon Barkley sign in Philadelphia and lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl in 2024. Now imagine if the Giants are struggling to win with Wilson this season while Jones is bouncing back and winning some games in Indy.
Not that the Colts are expected to make the playoffs or anything. Still, Jones improving his production in 2025 by a large margin is not far-fetched.
Steichen made clear that the Colts are looking for “consistency” in Richardson’s approach and production.
He said the team talked “right at the end of the season” about the need for quarterback competition. And really, competition is a euphemism here for a veteran who can play better football until Richardson figures it out, if he ever does.
Steichen said he has communicated regularly with Richardson and it’s clear what the team is looking for the young QB to improve.
“That definitely needs to improve, the completion percentage,” Steichen said of Richardson’s shocking 47.7% completion percentage last season. “You can’t go broke taking a profit. Getting those completions is huge and moving the chains. Instead of being at 2nd and 10, taking the checkdowns and getting to 2nd and 2.”
It’s a generous way of saying that the Colts desperately need way more from the quarterback position.
“You look around the league, teams that were in the playoffs, quarterback play was consistent there,” Steichen said. “So that’s what we’re looking for, [being] consistent at that position. Everyone’s hunting that.”
Jones was “one of the guys that was at the top of the list” for the Colts in free agency, Steichen said. His mobility was a selling point on top of all of his other qualities.
Steichen, an offensive coordinator by trade and the Colts’ playcaller, said a quarterback doesn’t have to be a really good runner but it certainly helps.
“I think it depends,” he said. “I’ve been around the drop back quarterbacks, with Philip Rivers [and] Justin Herbert, Hurts and Anthony now,” Steichen said. “I think you’ve got to build a system around your quarterback, that’s the most important thing.
“Does it help? Yeah, it helps to create,” he said. “But everyone says ‘Hey, create outside the pocket.’ You can create inside the pocket, too, by subtle movements and side stepping, and stepping up and making dump off throws and big-time throws. But if you have a quarterback who can run and create, it does help when things break down.”
Jones has the ability. And now he also has Jonathan Taylor in the Colts’ backfield. Could they recreate Jones’ 2022 Giants success when Barkley was taking Jones’ handoffs on the way to a playoff berth and Wild Card win?
The odds are stacked against them there. But rest assured that John Mara, Joe Schoen and Daboll will be peaking over at the Colts’ scores come the fall, knowing the only thing worse for the Giants in 2025 than losing big (again) would be to do so while Jones has a resurgence in the Midwest.
