Colts head coach Shane Steichen on Tuesday named Daniel Jones his team’s starting quarterback.
“He’s our starting quarterback for the season,” Steichen said. “I don’t want to have a quick leash on that. I feel confident in his abilities.”
Jones emerges from a preseason competition with Anthony Richardson Sr. to take command of the Colts’ offense with less than three weeks left until Sept. 7’s season opener against the Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium. Jones and Richardson had previously split reps with the Colts’ first-team offense in practice and two preseason games; Jones will now proceed forward in practice with the Colts’ starters.
“When they both came in, I made it very clear that this is going to be a battle, and they’re going to compete for the job,” Steichen said after Saturday’s preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. “And like I said, I’m going to make the decision I feel is best for the football team.”
Over 46 snaps between the Colts’ preseason games against the Baltimore Ravens and Packers, Jones completed 17 of 32 passes for 245 yards (7.7 yards/attempt). He did not throw for a touchdown nor did he turn the ball over, and Jones was sacked just once on 34 dropbacks.
Steichen has said since the spring a major determining factor in the Colts’ quarterback competition is consistency, which encompasses more than what can be seen in a box score.
“I think it’s everything, right?” Steichen said Saturday. “The operation, the communication in the huddle, the checks, getting guys on the same page. The consistency of all that, obviously, is going to play a big factor in this.”
In his career, Jones has played in 70 games (69 starts) and completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 14,582 yards with 70 touchdowns, 47 interceptions and 15 rushing touchdowns. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft was released by the New York Giants last season and caught on with the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad down the stretch of 2024.
Jones also won a playoff game in 2022 – he completed 24 of 35 passes for 301 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Giants’ 31-24 Wild Card win over the Vikings – and, that year, he had the lowest interception rate (1.1 percent of his 472 passes) in the NFL.
“Daniel does a nice job,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said on Monday when asked about Jones. “First off, he is a veteran quarterback who’s played a lot of football. And the more football you play, the more you see, the more experience you have of dealing with problems, problem solving on the field, handling different situations.
“… I would say the experience that he has has been something that’s been valuable for him to be able to manage all those situations, which he’s done well.”
COLTS RELEASE UNOFFICIAL DEPTH CHART FOR PRESEASON WEEK 3 GAME VS. CINCINNATI BENGALS
Head coach Shane Steichen said on Tuesday that no starters will play against the Bengals. Quarterbacks Riley Leonard and Jason Bean will play. Steichen named Daniel Jones the team’s starter on Tuesday as well.
WR: Michael Pittman Jr., Ashton Dulin, Laquon Treadwell, Ajou Ajou, Tyler Kahmann
LT: Bernhard Raimann, Marshall Foerner, Marcellus Johnson
LG: Quenton Nelson, Josh Sills, Mose Vavao
C: Tanor Bortolini, Danny Pinter, Wesley French
RG: Matt Goncalves, Dalton Tucker
RT: Braden Smith, Jalen Travis, Luke Tenuta
TE: Tyler Warren, Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree, Will Mallory, Jelani Woods, Sean McKeon, Maximilian Mang
WR: Josh Downs, Anthony Gould, Coleman Owen
WR: Alec Pierce, Adonai Mitchell, Blayne Taylor, Landon Parker
QB: Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson Sr., Riley Leonard, Jason Bean
RB: Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Goodson, DJ Giddens, Khalil Herbert, Ulysses Bentley IV, Nate Noel, Nay’Quan Wright
Pierce (groin) and Downs (hamstring) did not play in the Colts’ second preseason game against the Green Bay Packers after sustaining their respective injuries during training camp practices.
DEFENSE
DE: Kwity Paye, Tyquan Lewis, JT Tuimoloau, Desmond Little, Marcus Haynes
DT: DeForest Buckner, Neville Gallimore, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Devtona Davis
NT: Grover Stewart, Eric Johnson II, Tim Smith, Josh Tupou
DE: Laiatu Latu, Samson Ebukam, Durell Nchami, Isaiah Land
WLB: Cameron McGrone, Jaylon Carlies, Austin Ajiake, Segun Olubi, Solomon DeShields
MLB: Zaire Franklin, Joe Bachie, Jake Chaney, Joseph Vaughn
CB: Charvarius Ward, JuJu Brents, Samuel Womack III
FS: Camryn Bynum, Rodney Thomas II, Trey Washington
SS: Nick Cross, Daniel Scott
N: Kenny Moore II, Alex Johnson, Ladarius Tennison, Chris Lammons
CB: Xavien Howard, Jaylon Jones, Johnathan Edwards, Duke Shelley, B.J. Mayes
The Colts signed the eight-year veteran Howard on Monday.
Brents and Jones have both been held out of training camp practices recently due to hamstring injuries, and Moore has missed the last few practices with a knee injury.
Wohler sustained a foot injury in the Colts’ game against the Packers and was placed on injured reserve, and will be out for the season.
SPECIALISTS
P: Rigoberto Sanchez
PK: Spencer Shrader, Maddux Trujillo
H: Rigoberto Sanchez
LS: Luke Rhodes
KR: Anthony Gould, Ashton Dulin, Tyler Goodson
PR: Anthony Gould, Josh Downs, Coleman Owen
