Colts Notes: Jones, Pierce, Buckner

A few months after his Giants tenure went up in flames, the Colts took a one-year, $14MM flier on quarterback Daniel Jones in March 2025. The move could not have worked out much better until Jones tore his Achilles in early December.

A little over four months after suffering a major injury, Jones is progressing well in his recovery, general manager Chris Ballard said (via James Palmer of The Athletic). Jones has resumed throwing and performing dropbacks, according to head coach Shane Steichen (per Stephen Holder of ESPN). The Colts are hopeful he will be ready for Week 1 .

If Indianapolis had serious concerns over Jones’ Achilles, it could have let him walk in free agency. Instead, the team retained Jones on a two-year, $88MM contract with a fully guaranteed $50MM. While Jones has mostly disappointed since the Giants drafted him sixth overall in 2019, the 28-year-old has flashed enough to rake in two significant extensions. The Giants gave him a four-year, $160MM payday in March 2023, but the decision proved disastrous. They wound up cutting Jones in November 2024. He finished the season as a Vikings backup before his trip to the open market led him to Indianapolis.

Jones flopped on his big Giants contract, but the Colts are banking on him building on a career-best showing in 2025. Over 13 starts, he threw 19 touchdowns against eight interceptions and ranked top 10 in the NFL in yards per attempt (8.1; fourth), completion percentage (68.0; sixth), QBR (63.0; eighth) and passer rating (100.2; ninth).

Thanks in part to Jones’ first-half heater, the Colts surged to an AFC-leading 7-1 start. The shine began wearing off from there, though, as the team dropped its third straight the day Jones’ season ended and fell to 8-5. With Jones and injury-prone backup Anthony Richardson out for the season, the desperate Colts brought 44-year-old Philip Rivers out of retirement. As entertaining as Rivers’ comeback was, it didn’t yield a miraculous late-season run for the Colts. They lost out and finished 8-9 for the second year in a row.

Wide receiver Alec Pierce, one of Jones’ favorite targets last year, joined his QB as a pending free agent entering the offseason. The Colts also paid up to prevent the deep threat from leaving. Although he has never hit the 50-catch mark in a season, Pierce landed a four-year, $114MM pact with $60MM fully guaranteed right as the legal tampering period opened on March 9. The Colts traded Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers the same day, leaving Pierce as their No. 1 receiver. Pierce is now sidelined after undergoing ankle surgery, but with a three-month recovery timeline, there is no concern he will miss any regular-season action (via Holder).

Turning to the other side of the ball, cornerstone defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was among several key Colts who logged multiple absences last year. Buckner sat out seven games as a result of a neck injury, but he is “making good progress,” Mike Chappell of Fox 59 writes. The same goes for kicker Spencer Shrader (ACL), cornerback Justin Walley (ACL) and safety Hunter Wohler (foot). The Colts spent a third-rounder on Walley last year, but a torn ACL cost him his entire rookie season. With slot corner Kenny Moore potentially on the outs via trade or release, Walley could take on an important role in 2026.