The Indianapolis Colts have been longing for stability at the quarterback position ever since Andrew Luck’s retirement in 2019. By naming Daniel Jones their starter for 2025, head coach Shane Steichen hopes his consistency can lead to stability.
Jones, who beat out incumbent Anthony Richardson Sr. for the job, won the competition in part because of his dependability. General manager Chris Ballard said there’s no wild card factor with Jones the way there is with Richardson.
But Jones’ predictability comes at a cost.
In discussing the biggest weaknesses for every starting quarterback in the NFL, Pro Football Focus’ John Kosko questions whether Jones has the wow factor.
“While this is also [Jared] Goff’s weakness, Jones’ lack of playmaking is an even bigger extreme,” he wrote. “He has a combined 26 big-time throws across the past four seasons. Jones won the Colts’ starting job this offseason, and he should do a good job keeping the offense on schedule compared to Anthony Richardson Sr., but his lack of playmaking ability might be a problem for the team in 2025.”
The Colts knew that by choosing Jones over Richardson, they were swapping explosiveness for consistency. The two couldn’t be any different from each other. As a result, Indy’s offense takes on a different identity in 2025.
Sure, Jones is more comfortable making checks at the line of scrimmage and has the advantage of experience on his side, but the lack of big plays limits the potential of Steichen’s offense.
Only time will tell if the Colts made the right call switching to a more reliable operation. Either way, the lack of explosive plays down the field will surely become apparent once the Colts get their season off and running on Sept. 7.
