Some in the NFL have chastised Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard for applying the transition tag to keep quarterback Daniel Jones before the Colts and Jones reached a two-year, $88 million deal that might be worth up to $100 million in March.
Mike Sando of The Athletic interviewed NFL executives about transactions made during the offseason for a piece published on Thursday. Those executives seemed to be divided on the Colts’ response to the Jones problem.
Did Colts have to commit everything to keeping Daniel Jones?
I believe they made the correct decision by keeping Jones, one executive said of the Colts’ decision to retain Jones. They couldn’t afford to not have him.
According to the executive, the Colts’ problems began when they selected quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. as the fourth overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. Richardson may be remembered as one of the greatest flops in team history, and the Colts are unable to получить anything worthwhile in exchange for his services this spring.
However, another executive stated that Jones would not go anyplace without first contacting the Colts. According to the executive, Jones had no desire to sign with the New York Jets. While Jones had a cup-of-coffee stint with the Minnesota Vikings late in the 2024 season, the second executive said the Vikings were unable to sign a high-priced quarterback in March. Minnesota instead offered Kyler Murray a team-friendly one-year deal.
Why Colts couldn’t allow Daniel Jones to explore the open market.
Ballard and Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon are confident that Jones will improve on what he accomplished last season, when he went 8-2 in his first ten games. Despite sustaining a torn Achilles in December, Jones believes he will be ready to compete in Indianapolis’ regular-season opener in September.
According to one Colts official, there are countries where they do not sign [Jones], he gets paid elsewhere, and it would have been difficult to find someone to fill that void. This was the wise decision if you expect him to flourish in Year 2 of your strategy. Similarly, I am unsure whether it moves the needle.
Those running the Colts apparently believe that no apparent improvement over Jones was accessible to the squad through free agency, a trade, or the next draught. Even if he turns out to be a flop, Indianapolis is not committed to him for the long term.
