Week 1 in Sight? Colts Encouraged by Daniel Jones’ Rapid Rehab Progress

Daniel Jones’s season was cut short by a significant knee injury that required surgery, and put a damper on his free-agent market, but it did not diminish the Colts’ enthusiasm about him leading their team in 2026, including as soon as potentially Week 1.

And with Jones back on the practice field for Organized Team Activity sessions well ahead of schedule, it’s creating a belief within that organization that a return for the start of the regular season is a real possibility. 

The Colts will still have to assess him closely throughout the summer, but the fact that he is being cleared to do the non-contract football activities taking place in a team structure is a pretty strong indicator of their intent.

Telltale Sign

“I don’t know the specifics of what’s going on there,” said one NFL general manager, “but if he’s doing seven-on-seven work now, that tells me they think he is in play for the first game.” 

The Colts host the Ravens in the opener, which could end up having significant Wild Card tiebreaking ramifications. 

Jones was the first quarterback from the NFC to ever beat Ravens two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, who is still awaiting a new contract, back when Jones was with the Giants. 

Jones was performing at a level that would have him on shortlists for midseason MVP in his first campaign with the Colts. 

Many execs believed the Colts could have placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Jones and still secured his rights and, likely at a team-friendly price, given his injury. 

The Colts didn’t want to risk it and secured Jones to a two-year deal with $60M guaranteed at signing.

Jones has been an injury risk with his style of play, but his legs are an essential component of his overall package. 

The Colts dragged Philip Rivers out of retirement when Jones finally went down; he had been playing through injuries for weeks, and their season quickly derailed.