Daniel Jones Contract Terms
The Indianapolis Colts are placing the transition tag on Daniel Jones, who's on the comeback trail from a torn Achilles, the team announced on Tuesday. Jones will receive a fully guaranteed $37.83 million in the upcoming season. The transition tag guarantees the Colts the right of first refusal to match any offer Jones could receive from another team, but should he sign elsewhere, the Colts are not compensated, as they would be with an exclusive or non-exclusive tag. Indianapolis and Jones will continue to work toward a long-term deal ahead of the July 15 deadline.
Fantasy Football Impact for Daniel Jones with the Indianapolis Colts
While the franchise tag is often used multiple times each year, the transition tag is used far less often. According to ESPN Research, only 20 players have been given the transition tag since 2000 (though several were rescinded), with safety Kyle Dugger being the last in 2024.
It's even rarer to see it applied to quarterbacks.
According to NFL.com, Jeff George is the only other quarterback to have received the transition tag after the Atlanta Falcons applied it in 1996. He eventually signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal after holding out for an extended part of training camp.
But Jones' situation is tricky due to his injury status.
As ESPN.com's Stephen Holder noted, Jones resurrected his career with the Colts in 2025, leading Indianapolis to new heights with its record-setting offensive performance during the first half of the season.
Through 10 weeks, when the Colts were 8-2, Jones led the NFL in passing yards and was top six in completion percentage and yards per attempt.
But a hairline fibula fracture in his left leg negatively impacted his performance in the following weeks, with Jones sustaining a season-ending ruptured Achilles in his right leg in Week 14.
Jones finished his abbreviated first season with Indy, completing 261 of 384 passes (career-best completion rate of 68 percent) for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, along with five rushing touchdowns.
Although he was QB10 when his season ended in Week 14, Jones was QB5 over the first 10 games.
The Colts sputtered to the finish line, ending the year at 8-9 and out of the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
Before the injury, Jones looked like a lock for a massive long-term deal. Now, the Colts are betting $37.83 million that he'll return to that form.
But Jones still has several months of rehabilitation remaining before he is cleared to return to the field.
The real question isn't whether Jones can throw -- it's whether he can still run. Much of his early-season fantasy surge was fueled by red-zone mobility.
If the Colts scale back designed runs post-injury, his weekly ceiling may shrink.
Nonetheless, with general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen entering a pivotal season, their confidence in Jones' return to health and his 2025 form is now evident.
Jones and Steichen forged the sort of quarterback-playcaller mind-meld that teams across the NFL constantly seek but don't always find. For fantasy purposes, contract security matters less than recovery.
Until Jones proves he's fully mobile, he's more QB2 with upside than a weekly lock.
According to Holder, the Colts are taking their cues from other quarterbacks who have successfully bounced back from the injury.
That list includes Atlanta's Kirk Cousins, who tore his Achilles in Week 8 of the 2023 season and returned for the start of the 2024 season. He played at an acceptable level, completing 65 percent of his attempts and averaging 216 passing yards per game in the first month of the season. Aaron Rodgers, then with the New York Jets, had a full year to recover from an Achilles injury heading into the 2024 season. He started well enough, completing 64.1 percent of his attempts and averaging 212 passing yards in his first month back.
Holder notes that Rodgers has offered Jones advice on how to attack his rehab during phone conversations since Jones was injured.
But there are also horror stories, like that of Cleveland's Deshaun Watson. He re-ruptured his Achilles tendon during rehab following his original injury in October 2024. That issue is considered a rare occurrence among athletes who undergo surgical repair, as Jones and these other quarterbacks have.
In any case, barring a stunning turn of events, Jones will be Indy's starting quarterback in 2026. The Colts have made their bet.
Now fantasy managers must decide whether to make theirs. His initial QB27 Average Draft Position (ADP) means we're getting a much cheaper bite at the apple than the Colts.
