The good news for the Indianapolis Colts is that they don’t have an insurmountable task in winning the AFC South. The Houston Texans are really the only team that stands in their way as the Tennessee Titans are a mess (hence having the No. 1-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft) and the Jacksonville Jaguars are the Jacksonville Jaguars as of right now.
The bad news for the Colts is that they have plenty of holes on their roster and a ton of uncertainty at the quarterback position. Heck, even their head coach Shane Steichen is on the hot seat at this point and it’s just his third season in charge.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski recently compiled an offseason list of NFL power rankings, and he’s got the Colts towards the bottom at No. 25.
“These are uncertain times in Indianapolis,” Sobleski writes. “Head coach Shane Steichen finds himself on quite a few “hot seat” lists after two straight seasons of missing the postseason. General manager Chris Ballard may well join him after burning a top-five pick on Anthony Richardson in 2023.
“That’s because Richardson appears to be on the outside looking in under center—after signing Daniel Jones in the offseason, Jones has already built a “significant lead” over Richardson in the competition to be the team’s starting quarterback.”
Steichen has hyped up Daniel Jones
There is likely no way that Steichen is excited about the prospect of Jones starting for the Colts in 2025. But, he may be the team’s best bet and Steichen is wise to pretend like he’s a source of excitement for the franchise.
“He’s been great,” Steichen said this offseason. “He’s done a really nice job for us acclimating to the offense, learning the system. Obviously, a smart guy, [he] understands it. He’s picked it up real nice and he’s done some good things so far.”
Steichen better hope he’s right; his job probably depends on it.
“It stands to reason that Steichen would do so—he may need Jones to save his job,” Sobleski writes. “Because while the Colts have talented players on both sides of the ball, we have seen the past two years how far the team won’t go without a quarterback.”
The entire season rests on the quarterback position
It’s been said a million times since the season ended back in January: The Colts need competent quarterback play or else. The rest of the offseason acquisitions (like Tyler Warren), changes and adjustments really won’t matter if the signal caller is costing them games week in and week out.
“The Colts’ season hinges on the quarterback position,” writes Sobleski. “It usually does for most teams, but the room for variance between what Indianapolis has behind center is so vast that it might as well be considered a black hole. Anthony Richardson is already dealing with a shoulder issue (again). Daniel Jones very well may lead the Colts offense onto the field during Week 1.
“Unless Richardson gets healthy and drastically improves, or Jones looks like a viable starting option for an entire season, the Colts could very well be looking to reset after the 2026 campaign. The fact it’s being mentioned already shows how dire this situation actually is.”
NFL Expert Predicts Rough Season for Indianapolis Colts if This Doesn’t Change