Daniel Jones saved Ballard’s job
 

Make no mistake. Last March, Chris Ballard lucked into the best decision he ever made. He signed Daniel Jones. After years of trying to find someone, he was like the young man at the roulette table in Casablanca. Spin after spin had come up empty, then Rick or fate, the football deities or someone leaned over his shoulder and whispered to put everything on 28.

If he hadn’t signed Jones, if Richardson had been the starter, gone 3-5, gotten hurt, passed the reins to a journeyman QB, and the Colts had finished 5-12, Irsay-Gordon would have cleaned house.

Not a doubt in my mind.

And his Achilles injury also puts the team in a really bad spot. Given the trade the Colts made at the trade deadline, the Colts have to re-sign him, but even though he'll likely be cleared for football activity by training camp, his health and the level at which he'll be able to perform in the 2026 season will be in question. Then there's the 2 guys behind him. We got no looks at Anthony Richardson in 2026 thanks to a resistance band, but he certainly still has a great deal of potential. Then there's Riley Leonard. Pressed into emergency duty against the Jaguars, he performed about as well as one could expect under the circumstances. Then, when given an opportunity to prepare for a start, he put up 30 points on the #1 defense in the NFL. Given all that, what do you do? The team is obviously not going to pick up AR's 5YO, so do you trade him? Because clearly Leonard is at least a quality backup, but AR has more potential, and in the brief time we saw him in preseason, he looked much more accurate. Do you just make it an open competition again? Do you trade one of Richardson or Leonard? Whether they're able to get this decision right will likely determine the future of this front office.

If you think you are going to trade him, Wouldn't in make sense to pick up his 5th yr ? It makes it more appealing for the new team correct?

I think it would devalue him to the point where nobody would take him. Right now the 5th year option would be between $27-30 million a year. Nobody will want to take that on and we could be stuck with that contract.

I think it was a mutually beneficial decision. Jones was desperate for an opportunity to prove he wasn't a bust. The Giants released him, the Vikings signed him but placed him 3rd on the depth chart and then let him go. I'm not sure if any other teams besides the Colts even tried to sign him. Most on here gave him a snowballs chance in hell of winning the starting position let alone performing like an all pro. But let's not give Ballard any credit, we hate him, don't we?

I find it incredibly interesting that we simultaneously use "injuries are the only reason this team isn't in the playoffs" and "we're going all in on a QB that's played one healthy season in 7 years and is coming off one of the most devastating injuries in football". Dj has missed 30% of the games in his career. When/if he gets injured again next year is it bad luck or was it foreseeable? Nobody's fault or could you have foreseen that an injury prone QB would get injured (like this last year)?

snap!

I did not realize it would be that high. Yea fuck that

What choice do you really have?

AR might never recover functional eyesight; and, even if he does, is there anything in his résumé that gives you confidence in his ability to lead this team to the promised land.

Riley Leonard is on the roster, and it’s not unfair to wonder just how much we saw against Houston was a mirage. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what happens with this young man. Maybe he’s Tom Brady 2.0. Maybe Jones goes down in week five, Leonard steps in, leads us at an improbable Super Bowl run and turns Daniel Jones into Drew Bledsoe, 2.0. That is, however, not something I would be willing to go all in on

Free agency, this year, appears to be particularly sad. Beyond Jones, who is considered to be one of the top four or five players available, you have the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Marcus, Mariota, Trey Lance, and Joe Flacco. Does anyone want to hop on to the Flacco train again?

This morning, CBS analyst Ran Carthon, addressed just this issue. He said the colts need to sign Jones plus a viable bridge candidate, a veteran who can step in and win games if Jones goes down..

I can’t argue with that.

I agree with you Kray. I can't criticize any particular decision that put us here but the responsibility for constructing this roster for the last decade has been Ballard. That this is the situation we now find ourselves in and that we have hired the same people who put us here to lead us out of it just doesn't sit well with me. I hope (but have zero reason to believe) that Carlie has a more concrete plan than what she articulated at her presser. I'm at the point where I would be just as happy to roll with AR (if he can see properly) and Leonard to be honest. At least we can find out if either has anything to offer. They are both huge long shots but so is having a healthy DJ for the year and making any sort of noise in the post season.