The Indianapolis Colts’ worst fear has been confirmed: quarterback Daniel Jones will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn Achilles in Sunday’s 36-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jones will undergo surgery in the coming days, officially (and unfortunately) ending what had become one of the NFL’s most unexpected redemption stories.
The injury occurred late in the first quarter. As Jones planted awkwardly delivering a pass, he immediately clutched the back of his right leg and slammed his helmet to the turf in visible frustration.
The Achilles tear ends a season in which Jones had already been pushing through a painful hairline fracture in his left fibula, playing through the injury the past two games without complaint.
With Jones out and Anthony Richardson still on IR from when he suffered a fractured orbital bone during pregame warmups earlier this season, the Colts are suddenly down to one healthy quarterback on the 53-man roster: sixth-round rookie Riley Leonard.
A Rookie Now at the Center of the Colts’ Season
GettyColts QB Riley Leonard
Leonard entered Sunday’s game in relief and completed 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards, adding his first NFL touchdown on a late scramble.
While he showed control in difficult conditions, he now becomes the focal point of a Indianapolis Colts team that started 7-1 and has since dropped four of five, losing their grip on the playoffs last.
“You see that he has talent,” wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. “And Dan’s going to do everything he can to help him out.”
Indy will need it. While veteran Brett Rypien is on the practice squad, the Colts are expected to look at additional quarterback options this week.
A Brutal Final Stretch Looms
GettyColts QB Daniel Jones
Now if there was ever a bad time for a quarterback crisis, this is it. The Colts have four tough games left in the season:
To make matters even worse, the loss to the Jags knocked Indy out of first place in the AFC South. And depending on Sunday night and Monday results, the Colts could slip out of the playoff picture altogether.
“We’ve got everything we want still in front of us,” Steichen said. “We’ve got to get this thing cleaned up and get ready for Seattle.”
After the game, Jones’ teammates made it clear they would feel his absence both on the field and in the locker room.
“He’s our brother,” left tackle Bernhard Raimann said. “He’s giving it all for us. We’ll do the same for him.”
Defensive tackle Grover Stewart echoed that: “We all in this thing together,” DT Grover Stewart said. “He goes down, the next guy goes up. We all rally behind him.”
That next guy is Riley Leonard, a sixth-round rookie now asked to salvage a season that once looked like one of the NFL’s biggest surprises.
Indianapolis still has everything to play for, but without Daniel Jones, the path just got a whole lot steeper.
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