After being cut mid-way through the previous season, quarterback Daniel Jones has handpicked his new home after hitting the free agent market.
According to multiple reports, Jones has agreed to a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts worth $14million.
Jones is expecting to fight in a quarterback battle with the struggling and oft-injured Anthony Richardson for the top job next year.
A return to the Minnesota Vikings, the team he signed with last season, was on the cards, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
However, it appears Jones likes his chances in Indianapolis to supplant Richardson than the possibility of beating out likely Vikings starter JJ McCarthy.
McCarthy was expected to start after the Vikings selected him tenth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, he suffered a season-ending injury in training camp that saw Sam Darnold step in.
Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has signed with the Indianapolis Colts
Jones will be competing with the struggling and injured Anthony Richardson for the start
Jones was cut by the Giants in the middle of last season and signed with the Minnesota Vikings
Darnold performed beyond expectation, taking the Vikings to a 14-3 record and a playoff berth.
Jones, meanwhile, entered the season as the starting quarterback for the New York Giants – the team that picked him sixth overall in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Duke.
Barring one phenomenal season (which led to a lucrative contract that offseason), Jones’ career with the Giants was lackluster.
The Giants hoped he might eventually turn things around. But, after being benched for backup Tommy DeVito, New York cut Jones in November.
Just a few days later, he signed a deal with the Vikings as a backup. He did not appear in a game for Minnesota.
Just like Jones did in his tenure with the team that drafted him, Richardson has not gotten off to the smoothest of NFL starts – albeit, for different reasons.
Richardson, the 2023 fourth overall pick out of Florida, got injured in his first NFL season. He only played four games in total.
In his second season, he missed time due to another injury. But he also showed a lack of maturity when he voluntarily took himself out of a game because he ‘needed a breather’ in a 23-20 loss.
With Minnesota in need of a backup quarterback, they could turn to the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers
Richardson was benched the next week in favor of the then-39-year-old Joe Flacco. After two losses under the former Super Bowl winner, Richardson was elevated back to starter and finished the season having played eleven games.
With this move, the Vikings will likely be looking in another direction for a suitable backup that could push McCarthy or challenge him for the starting job.
A name that has continued to be floated is Aaron Rodgers, who is set to be cut from the New York Jets.
Rodgers has been linked with a number of teams – including the Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers – but Minnesota could still be an option.
Other quarterbacks still available in free agency include Russell Wilson, Trey Lance, and Drew Lock among others.
