Daniel Jones ‘cleared to do everything’

Jones has yet to crack 270 yards or throw multiple touchdowns in a start. He’s also thrown six interceptions and is completing a career-worst 59.6 percent of his passes. It is not an uncommon observation to say that he is struggling to drive the ball on his throws. While the Colts are not going away from Jones now, that does not necessarily mean he will remain the starter all year if he continues to play like this. Given what the Vikings have been up to this year, we’d be surprised if Jones escaped the bottom five of quarterback fantasy points this week.

This one is going to leave a mark. The Colts led 13-0 at halftime but couldn’t get anything going after the break, where they committed two turnovers and Jones provided just 116 yards passing. His third quarter pick came only moments after a lost Jonathan Taylor fumble. It went right to Titans corner Cor’Dale Flott. Jones was not helped by some shaky hands from default No. 1 receiver Josh Downs, but he simply was not standing and delivering. Jones is really struggling to drive the ball this season, and he’s contributing far less than usual with his legs. In other words, he looks like a 29-year-old coming off a torn achilles’ tendon. There is little reason to expect things to get better in the near term, very much including Week 7 against Brian Flores’ ferocious Vikings defense.

A full practice today means Jones will play through the issue in Week 6, but it’s never a good sign to see a starting quarterback unexpectedly pop up on the injury report. Jones has also struggled mightily this year, so the last thing he needs is a lingering ankle issue, even if it’s a minor one. Needless to say, we aren’t itching to get Jones in our fantasy lineups in a low-scoring affair with the Titans. He is buried at the back of the QB2 ranks for Week 6.

The 267 yards aren’t a terrible total for Jones, but the Colts’ offense was not effective for most of the game. They were stuffed inside the Steelers’ three-yard line at least four times during the game, and the only touchdown they scored was on a one-yard sneak to tight end Tyler Warren. Even on that play, Warren was stuffed short of the end zone and had to be pushed in from behind. Jones was unable to connect with any receivers down the field and overthrew a few deep shots on the day. The Steelers spent a lot of energy trying to corral Jonathan Taylor, and you’d assume other defenses will deploy the same strategy, which means Jones is going to need to start to make them pay. Things should get easier next week against the winless Titans.

Jones was disastrously inaccurate in the first half, making even routine catches absurdly difficult for his banged-up receiver room. He also began the game by losing the football after his left tackle was pushed into him, resulting in a fumble. He eventually got the grain on the tracks with back-to-back scoring drives to close the first half. Daniels settled in after the break, though the Colts mostly leaned on Jonathan Taylor, who scored twice, to salt away the game. Jones is averaging a dismal 188.5 yards per game with just three scores to his name. He is barely in the QB2 mix for Indy’s Week 5 game versus the Steelers.

He added three fumbles, two of which were recovered by the Texans on Will Anderson Jr. strip sacks. It wasn’t pretty, and expectations should be held in check for the Colts passing game given the lack of relevant options, but Jones held on to help snap Indianapolis’ nine-game losing streak dating back to last season. His most impressive play was probably a middle-of-field ball to Laquon Treadwell that put the Colts in field-goal range for Spencer Shrader’s go-ahead kick with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Colts have a better matchup next week against the Commanders, but Jones would be tough to trust as more than a bottom-rung superflex QB2.

Jones lost one of his top receivers at the end of the first quarter when Alec Pierce departed with a heel injury. He was largely unable to attack downfield following Pierce’s departure. That would all change on the team’s lone possession of overtime when Jones hit Laquon Treadwell for a 48-yard shot on the first play following a Chiefs field goal, but the team would be unable to punch their ticket to a win while settling for a field goal of their own. The team could be forced to play possession ball moving forward considering the short-area nature of the remaining pass-catchers, pending the status of Pierce. That spells trouble against the vaunted Houston defense in Week 3, where Jones will be a fringe QB2 while potentially down his field-stretching option.

Jones and the Colts got off to a strong start in this one. The Colts came out of the gate attempting seven straight passes, with Jones going 5-for-7 on the drive for 59 yards. Jonathan Taylor would cap the opening drive with a one-yard touchdown to give the Colts an early lead, but Jones and company struggled to get things going after that. He would muster just 29 passing yards for the remainder of the first half and was baited by Ravens LB Roquan Smith into throwing an interception on the Colts’ second possession. Jones would orchestrate a scoring drive early in the fourth quarter, connecting on passes of 14 and 23 yards to Alec Pierce before eventually finding Tyler Warren for a nine-yard score. Things won’t get any easier for Jones and the Colts next week as they travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs. Jones shouldn’t be trusted as anything more than a mid to low-end QB2 in that matchup.

Richardson and Riley Leonard will both play, while Daniel Jones will sit. Richardson’s trade request this offseason has gone nowhere, but the Colts appear to be giving him ample opportunity to showcase himself in the preseason as he will get the first half here and the second half next week against Atlanta, while Leonard picks up the other two halves. The Colts are likely hoping someone talks themselves into trading a low pick for Richardson.

Colts coach Shane Steichen did not indicate who will start the game, nor did he rule out QB Daniel Jones (Achilles). Per Erickson, holding Jones out would be unsurprising. Richardson was recently seen working with the third-team offense, so Leonard could have the inside track to start on Thursday.