The Indianapolis Colts didn’t plan to be in this situation, but the NFL world moves quickly and teams just have to adjust.
So the Colts are sellers before the NFL’s 2026 trade deadline, which is on Tuesday, Nov. 10 — and there are moves still coming that haven’t happened yet.
As the Colts move veteran players out of town, it also raises plenty of questions about the future, and a big part of the future of any NFL team is the quarterback position.
The Colts signed Daniel Jones to a two-year deal before this season for $88 million. That already hasn’t aged well.
At this point, it’s starting to seem less and less likely that Jones will play quarterback for Indianapolis in 2027. It’ll be a matter of figuring out how to move him.
It is clear, though, that moving Jones would save the Colts a lot of cash.
Savings if Colts Cut or Trade Daniel Jones
The Athletic’s Austin Mock broke down all the financials around separating with Jones in a new article on Thursday.
Jones currently is looking at a $46.8 million cap charge for the Colts in 2027, per Mock. It works out to $35.2 million in dead money if he’s cut (saving $11.6 million) — and that is exactly the same amount if Jones is traded.
“You take on the $35.2 million in dead cap — it’s only $8.8 million in 2027 with a post-June 1 designation — and you move on,” Mock writes. “Whether you draft a rookie or sign a veteran, it doesn’t really matter in 2027, as the Colts aren’t winning any time soon. Take another spin on the quarterback roulette wheel and hope you find something. If not, they can try again in 2028 when they have their own first-round pick.”
Unless the Colts all of a sudden think they’ll contend for a Super Bowl in 2027 with Jones, there’s not a great reason not to take the savings.
Case for Cutting Daniel Jones
Jones hasn’t been good enough, and the money isn’t working in his favor.
“This is probably the easiest call of the bunch,” Mock writes while also analyzing Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts and Deshaun Watson. “Jones, 29, played well for a half season in Indianapolis, and with few other options — especially after trading away two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner — as Jones approached free agency, the Colts felt compelled to re-sign him. That was despite the fact that he tore his Achilles last season. By the way, when I say Jones had a good half-season, he had a QBI of 101, which means he was 1 percent better than an average NFL quarterback. This year, that number has fallen to 70. By QBI, Malik Willis, Tanner McKee, Tyler Huntley and — I’m sorry, Colts fans — Carson Wentz have all been better.”
The Colts gave Jones a shot, and a huge contract to go with it, even with him coming off an injury and having an earlier-career tendency to be mediocre. It hasn’t paid off, and Indianapolis may not stick around to see how it ends.
Colts Cutting Daniel Jones Would Save Millions