With Colts quarterback Daniel Jones restricted by the transition tag, he can’t receive offers from other teams until the new league year begins. Once Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET arrives, what will happen?
He’ll make $37.833 million in 2026 if he accepts the transition tag. Before then (and after 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday), he can sign an offer sheet with a new team. The Colts would have five days to match, with no right to compensation if they don’t. (He’d also fall out of the compensatory pick system, if he leaves via an offer sheet.)
For Jones, any long-term offer will be weighed against the one-year, $37.833 million bird in the hand.
Albert Breer of SI.com reported earlier this week that the Colts’ “initial offer” (which means it wasn’t the final offer) to Jones was “in the range of Sam Darnold’s three-year, $100.5 million deal” with the Seahawks. Per Breer, the Jones camp responded by saying that, if the franchise tag is applied, “a deal worth $50 million per year would be more in the ballpark” of what Jones would take.
While some (including whoever does the social-media posts for SI.com) are misinterpreting Breer’s reporting to mean Jones asked for $50 million per year, the more accurate characterization is that, if the Colts had applied the $43.895 million franchise tag, the standard approach to turning that into a long-term deal ($43.895 million in 2026, with a 20-percent bump for 2027) would have resulted in a two-year payout of $96.569 million.
So, yes, if the Colts would have used the franchise tag, $50 million per year would have become a reasonable ballpark.
But the Colts didn’t use the franchise tag. They went with the lower level. That creates the basis for a two-year payout of $83.237 million ($37.833 million for 2026 with a 20-percent bump for 2027). That works out to an average of $41.62 million.
The transition tag also opens the door to other offers. Complicating that process is both the availability of other veteran quarterbacks and Jones’s current health. He’s recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in December 2025, and he has had multiple other significant injuries during his seven-year career.
The Colts seem to be banking on no one breaking the bank for an offer sheet Indy won’t match. Which makes the transition tag the starting point for a possible long-term deal that would land in the range of $41 million per year — and which also gives Jones the ability to collect $37.833 million for 2026 and play under the transition tag.
It also gives the Colts the ability to let him do just that, with a decision for 2027 and beyond made based on how 2026 goes, both as to production and as to whether he avoids another significant injury.
Which brings us back to the question that will be resolved at some point after 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday: Will another team put together an offer sheet that he’ll sign?
When word broke on Monday that the Colts and Steelers agreed on a trade that will send wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to Pittsburgh, there were not any details of the draft pick swap that would be part of the deal.
Tuesday brought more about which picks are involved in the trade. Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the Steelers will be sending a sixth-round pick to Indianapolis for Pittman and a seventh-round selection. The trade cannot become official until the new league year is underway on Wednesday.
Pittman has also agreed to a new three-year deal with the Steelers worth $59 million.
The Colts also agreed to a new deal with wideout Alec Pierce on Monday and will move forward with him, Josh Downs, Ashton Dulin, and Anthony Gould at wide receiver.
The Raiders have agreed to terms with defensive end Kwity Paye on a three-year, $48 million deal, with $32 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports.
Paye, 27, was 55th on PFT’s top-100 free agents list.
The Colts made Paye a first-round pick in 2021, and he spent his first five seasons with the team. He played 75 of a possible 85 games in his time in Indianapolis, starting 74 of the games he played.
In his career, Paye has 209 tackles, 30.5 sacks, 50 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles and three pass breakups.
The Raiders left a huge hole in their defense when they traded Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby to the Ravens last week.
The Colts have moved on to the defensive side of the pall after making a pair of wide receiver moves on Monday.
According to multiple reports, they have agreed to a two-year deal with edge rusher Arden Key. The contract is worth $20 million with $11 million in guaranteed money.
The Colts made waves early in the free agency negotiating window by agreeing to re-sign Alec Pierce and trade Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers.
Key had 16.5 sacks for the Titans over the last three seasons, so he’s familiar with life in the AFC South. The 2018 Raiders third-round pick has 30.5 sacks and has also played for the 49ers and Jaguars.
Michael Pittman was entering the last year of his contract.
He’ll get a new one on the way in the door with Pittsburgh.
According to multiple reports, Pittman has agreed to a three-year deal worth $59 million with the Steelers.
Pittman, 28, was set to make $22 million in base salary for 2026.
A second-round pick in 2020, Pittman had spent his entire career with Indianapolis. He caught 80 passes for 784 yards with a career-high seven touchdowns in 2025, playing all 17 games.
In 95 career games with 86 starts, Pittman has caught 485 passes for 5,254 yards with 25 touchdowns.
