The Colts are known to be working on new deals for QB Daniel Jones and WR Alec Pierce, both of whom are eligible for free agency this month. While it is unclear how much of a gap Indianapolis and Pierce have to bridge, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports the team is not close to striking an accord with Jones.
If that does not change by Tuesday’s tag deadline, Graziano expects the Colts to put the transition tag on the 28-year-old passer. The transition tag comes with a $37.8MM cost, making it a less expensive option than the $43.9MM franchise tender. In a transition tag scenario, Indianapolis would not be entitled to any draft compensation if it declines to match an offer sheet Jones might sign with another club, though it is easy to see the logic in the move: the Colts essentially would be allowing another team to do their negotiating for them, and if Jones does not find an outside offer to his liking, he may come back to Indy on a deal closer to the team’s preferred terms. If not, and if he plays out the 2026 season on the transition tag, then at least he will not consume as much of the cap sheet as he would on the franchise tag.
But while the transition tag is the cheapest of the tag options, the $37.8MM cap charge is still considerable. As Graziano suggests, it could preclude the Colts from reaching a deal with Pierce, despite their assurances that he will be back with the club in 2026, either on a long-term deal or a tag of his own. If the team has to use a tag this offseason, it would obviously prefer to use it on Pierce, whose franchise tender would be about $27MM and whose transition tender would be just shy of $24MM.
Those numbers are roughly in line with what Pierce can expect on an annual basis on his next contract. We recently learned the big-play threat, who has led the league in yards-per-reception rate in each of the last two seasons, is expected to have a strong market if he makes it to free agency. In the Graziano piece linked above, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirms Pierce’s market value has exceeded $20MM per year.
The fractured fibula and torn Achilles that Jones suffered in Week 13, which ended his season prematurely and which was the driving force in the Colts’ second-half collapse that kept them out of the playoffs, are not expected to impact his 2026 availability. Still, his injury history and the fact that his stellar (and surprising) play to open the 2025 campaign had already started to slip prior to the injuries could make it difficult for player and team to find common ground on a long-term pact.
If only Mendoza had someone to throw the ball to not named Brock Bowers.