Bold bet on Daniel Jones’ return after breakout seasons from Alec Pierce
Daniel Jones throws a pass during Indianapolis Colts Training Camp practice at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. - Aug. 3 2025. | Thomas Butler-GuerreroThe Indianapolis Colts entered the 2026 offseason facing a familiar dilemma, trying to sustain a promising core while navigating cap casualties and roster turnover on the fly. The early offseason moves signal the Colts will double down on an offense that powered an 8-2 start last season before they lost their final seven games to fall out of the AFC playoff race.
The centerpiece of the offseason plan was the decision to retain both quarterback Daniel Jones and receiver Alec Pierce in Indianapolis. The deep threat of Pierce became a defining element of the offense to stretch opponents vertically as Jones averaged 20.4 yards per completion when targeting Pierce. Over the past two seasons, Pierce has caught 84 passes for 1,827 receiving yards, leading the league averaging an absurd 21.8 yards per catch. Pierce mentioned it's no surprise on his return, because his agents were committed to getting a deal done for him to stay in Indy.
The franchise made clear the front office believes Jones' performance sample was enough to justify its $100 million investment since bringing Jones in last March.Jones agreed to a two-year, $88 million contract that could reach upwards to $100 million with incentives. The deal also includes $50 million fully guaranteed and secures a massive opportunity for the player who ignited the Colts' offense before his injury derailed the season. Jones will continue throwing dimes to receiver Alec Pierce, who agreed to a four-year, $116 million extension to remain in Indy.
The free fall out of playoff contention started when Jones fractured his left fibula in a Week 12 overtime loss at Kansas City. The week following that season-shifting loss was the last time the Colts held first place in the AFC South. At the time, the Colts led the entire league averaging 6.31 yards per play and 5.21 rush yards per play, averaging 31 points per game. Jones posted career highs averaging 8.1 yards per pass, along with a 63 QBR and a 100.2 passer rating before he went through compounding injuries and later suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Jacksonville.
To create financial flexibility for those deals, Indianapolis must reshape parts of its offense following five key starter departures.The Colts traded away receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers and let starting tackle Braden Smith walk to the rival Houston Texans in free agency. The Colts cleared roughly $24 million in cap space on Wednesday after the Steelers took on Pittman's contract and swapped a seventh round pick (No. 230) for an additional sixth-round compensary pick (either No. 214 or No. 216) in April's NFL Draft.
Smith is approaching 30 and agreed to a two-year, $25 million deal with Houston after he logged 107 games with 105 starts in his first eight NFL seasons in Indy.Indianapolis also restructured the contract of starting left tackle Bernhard Raimann, converting $11 million of his salary into a signing bonus to create $8 million of cap room. If Jones returns healthy, the Colts believe the trio of Jones, Pierce and Taylor could position them to resume the same trajectory when the offense looked like one of the NFL's most dangerous units.