Daniel Jones takes a massive step forward in his injury recovery as he enters his first offseason as the Colts' starting QB

Oct 19, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) speaks with head coach Shane Steichen in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Daniel Jones is back throwing ahead of OTAs and training camp

During general manager Chris Ballard’s pre-draft press conference, he had some bad injury news to share. That being wide receiver Alec Pierce undergoing ankle surgery, which will hold him out of OTAs.

The hope is he will be ready by training camp, but now the Colts will be without their top wide receiver, along with QB1 Jones. Steichen’s update on Jones was promising, though, with the quarterback officially back to throwing and even performing drop-backs. This is a significant step forward in his recovery.

This is Jones’ first full offseason as the Colts’ starting quarterback. Last year, he had to compete with Anthony Richardson in training camp for the job. So it will be pivotal that he gets back as quickly as possible so he can get all those reps and get the team’s offense ready to hit the road running in 2026.

Achilles tendon injuries are tricky and take some time to get back to 100%. The Colts will not be looking to rush Jones back on the field. But the reality is, they need him to be ready for Week one. Right now, second-year quarterback Riley Leonard is set to take all of the first-team snaps at quarterback throughout OTAs and possibly even the start of training camp. A big opportunity for the young quarterback, but the Colts would love to see Jones retake those reps sooner rather than later.