The Daniel Jones rollercoaster ended with an ugly crash with the New York Giants. After six years as the team's starter, he plummeted from his spot atop the depth chart, spending time on the practice squad before finally leaving the building.
The 29-year-old resurrected his career in 2025 with the Indianapolis Colts, leading one of the most dangerous offenses in football before a brutal injury ended his season. Still, his efforts were enough to earn him a hefty contract this offseason.
According to Ben Solak of ESPN, the former Giants quarterback is going to come back to Earth in 2026. In a recent article, Solak called Jones' 2025 breakout a "blip," rather than a trend worth buying into. The trajectory is already looking eerily similar to the one he took with Big Blue.
Daniel Jones is on a journey Giants fans have seen before
Jones had a mini-breakout with the Giants, too. His 2022 season was enough to convince Joe Schoen to give him a contract extension. While he was certainly more impressive in his first year with the Colts than he ever was with the Giants, he's going down a similar path.
Solak doesn't see that path leading to anything special. He said, "Jones' 2025 is obviously a blip. He was not just singularly productive for his baseline but also historically productive among league passers. The undressing of that charade was well underway before he got hurt. The awful reality that he must now recover from an Achilles injury makes the bet that 2025 was a peak season even easier to make."
Now, Jones has better surroundings in Indianapolis than he ever did in New York. The offensive play caller and running game give the offense a solid foundation for the quarterback to lean on. Even if he can't match the performances that he put together early in his 2025 campaign, he could lead a passable offense.
But if he returns to being a below-average quarterback, Shane Steichen's offense will be severely limited. His new contract could quickly start to look like a big mistake on the part of Colts general manager Chris Ballard.
The Colts have committed to making Jones their franchise quarterback, at least for this season. They're betting, much like the Giants did, that his one-year uptick in performance is a sign of things to come.
That bet didn't work out well at all for the Giants, and it's already looking like the Colts could suffer similar disappointment.
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