For now, Daniel Jones is expected to return to the Colts in 2026. But it’s not guaranteed since Indianapolis used the transition tag on the quarterback on Tuesday.
The transition tag gives Jones a one-year, fully guaranteed $37.83 million salary for 2026 and allows him to negotiate with other teams, though Indianapolis retains the right to match any offer sheet. Barring something unexpected, Jones should play for the Colts in 2026 — once he’s healthy.
Jones underwent surgery in December to repair a torn right Achilles that he suffered in Week 14. The recovery timeline is 6-to-8 months, which puts him in a position to be fully cleared for Week 1.
Fantasy managers should view Jones as a No. 2 quarterback in all leagues, and he’s only worth drafting with a late-round pick in one-quarterback leagues. In Superflex and two-quarterback leagues, Jones is worth a mid-round selection.
After spending the majority of his career with the Giants and a brief stop in Minnesota, he resurrected his career with Indianapolis in 2025 when he completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions, along with 164 rushing yards and five touchdowns. And prior to suffering the Achilles injury, Jones was also playing though a fibula injury suffered in Week 10.
When healthy, through the first nine games of the season, Jones was averaging 22.8 Fantasy points per game. He topped 20 Fantasy points six times during that span.
But before we can fully evaluate Jones as a Fantasy quarterback in 2026, we need to see what his receiving corps will look like. With Jones getting the transition tag, Alec Pierce is now an unrestricted free agent.
The Colts have said they want to keep Pierce, so we’ll see what happens. And Michael Pittman has a cap hit of $29 million for 2026, which could force the Colts to release him if they don’t restructure his contract.
It would be great if Indianapolis ran it back with the same receiving corps, which also features Tyler Warren and Josh Downs. But no matter what happens with Pierce or Pittman, Jones will only be a No. 2 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues in 2026 if he stays with the Colts as expected.
