Pro Football Rumors
Daniel Jones has continued to make progress while recovering from the Achilles tear which ended his debut Colts season. An increase in his level of practice participation has taken place recently.
Jones has been able to take part in seven-on-seven drills in OTAs lately, as detailed by the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). That marks the next step after he was limited to individual work earlier this spring. 11-on-11 participation will need to wait until training camp, but the latest developments are encouraging.
“To get him out there in seven-on-seven was huge, to get him in the fold, running plays with the guys,” head coach Shane Steichen said of Jones’ recovery. “We’ll keep that trend going, probably through the end of OTAs and then, obviously, get him into team stuff at training camp. It’s spring, we don’t play for a while, so we’ve got to be smart with his injury. But he’s making great progress.”
Jones received the transition tag in March to ensure he would not be able to test the market. Shortly thereafter, a two-year, $88MM deal was worked out. The 29-year-old will be counted on to replicate his impressive performances from before the injury as the Colts aim to end their playoff drought. The play of the team’s offense will be key to those efforts, and wideout Alec Pierce‘s availability will be critical.
Pierce – who landed a four-year, $114MM pact to stay with the Colts – underwent ankle surgery this spring. No missed time in the regular season is expected in his case, but a limited workload during the summer may be coming. Steichen said on Tuesday (via Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star) it is possible Pierce could remain sidelined during the beginning of training camp next month. A return to practice in time for Week 1 would still be anticipated even in that event, but any setbacks in recovery could prove to be impactful on a Colts receiving corps which no longer has Michael Pittman Jr. in the fold.
Jones will also be able to participate in seven-on-seven drills during mandatory minicamp, Steichen confirmed today (h/t Fox59’s Mike Chappell). Anything beyond that will not take place until padded practices during the summer, but his recovery continues to head in a positive direction.
