Sports
Former Vikings QB Lands Massive Payday
Last offseason, Daniel Jones had a choice: return to the Minnesota Vikings for a training camp battle with J.J. McCarthy or sign with the Indianapolis Colts, where he might more easily win a QB1 job. He made the right decision. Jones signed a meaty contract extension on Wednesday, locking him in as the Colts’ quarterback for the next two seasons at a price point of up to $50 million per year.
Indianapolis made its choice, and Minnesota’s quarterback picture may have shifted with it.
The Colts hinted in the last four months that they wanted Jones for the long haul, and they were not bluffing.
Daniel Jones’s Deal Could Clarify the Vikings’ Next Move
Cross the Colts off the quarterback carousel list.
Jones Secures $50 Million Per Year in IND
Jones, indeed, got his bag after betting on himself. It’s a done deal.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted Wednesday, the third day of free agency, “The Colts and QB Daniel Jones are finalizing a two-year, $88 million deal that can be worth up to $100 million with incentives, sources tell me and Ian Rapoport. Originally on the transition tag, Indiana Jones gets over $60 million guaranteed on a deal done by AthletesFirst.”
Bleacher Report‘s Andrew Peters added, “Per Spotrac, the Colts had $280.32 million counting toward the cap prior to the deal. That gave them $31.6 million in space to work with. Jones, who was released by the New York Giants during the 2024 campaign, signed with the Colts last offseason after spending the latter half of the previous season with the Minnesota Vikings.”
The Colts will now consider themselves contenders for at least the next two years.
The Updated QB Carousel
Another piece of the NFL offseason quarterback puzzle has snapped into place. Here’s a look at the landscape:
Browns: TBD
Cardinals: Gardner Minshew
Colts: Daniel Jones
Dolphins: Malik Willis
Falcons: Tua Tagovailoa
Jets: Geno Smith
Raiders: 99.9% Fernando Mendoza
Steelers: TBD but Aaron Rodgers Expected
Vikings: TBD but Kyler Murray Expected
This leaves quarterbacks like free-agent-to-be Kirk Cousins and perhaps Mac Jones in San Francisco looking for QB1 jobs in a now-skimpy market.
Jones’ 2025 Performance
Even prior to the Achilles tear in December, Jones’ performance was trending downward, a fact largely unnoticed nationally, though efficiency metrics clearly indicate a drop-off.
Daniel Jones’ NFL Ranking,
per EPA+CPOE,
in 2025:
Before Week 9: 4th
After Week 9: 28th
The first half of the season was a different story altogether. Throughout September and October, Jones led Indianapolis to an 8–2 start, fueling MVP consideration.
Before the injury, Jones was on pace for the following season-end stats:
- 4,055 Passing Yards
- 31 Total TDs
- 10 INTs
- 68.0% Completion
- 7th in EPA+CPOE Ranking
Fans even labeled him “Indiana Jones.” Then, in December, everything changed. Jones tore his Achilles, causing the Colts’ season to collapse, and Indianapolis struggled through the remaining weeks. In a desperate attempt to salvage the season, the front office even coaxed Philip Rivers out of retirement, but the move failed to revive the offense, and their playoff hopes vanished.
ESPN added context to Jones’s new contract Wednesday: “Jones, recovering from a torn Achilles, is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season and one source told Schefter he ‘absolutely’ expects him to be ready for training camp. The Colts had placed the rarely used transition tag on Jones before the March 3 deadline. That allowed the Colts to match any offer sheet he might have signed.”
“If he had played on the tender, he would have been paid $37.833 million this season. That decision allowed top wide receiver Alec Pierce to test free agency, but the Colts were able to re-sign him to a four-year, $116 million contract at the start of the free agent negotiating period. They then traded wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers, saving $24 million against the salary cap.”
Path Cleared for Kyler Murray to MIN?
How do the Vikings factor into this development, aside from one of their own hitting it big? Well, the Colts were a theoretical landing spot for Murray, who is on the verge of a roster release by the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has visited the postseason just once in seven seasons with Murray at the helm, and a new coaching staff evidently wants a clean slate at quarterback.
Murray should be officially a free agent soon, and any minute now, based on the above quarterback carousel, his choices appear to be down to the Vikings and Steelers.
As a kid, Murray cheered for the Vikings, and he has never been shy about announcing it. With Rodgers probably heading back to Pittsburgh — his longtime head coach, Mike McCarthy, is now in charge — Murray to Minnesota feels inevitable, especially with the Colts no longer seeking a QB1 alternative.
Jones will turn 29 in May, and Indianapolis will hope his midseason decline in 2025, along with the busted Achilles, don’t matter.
