Stampede Blue
Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar will write about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment, it’s time to wonder exactly what version of Daniel Jones the Colts have on their roster. Because throughout a previously unremarkable career, Jones has never looked like this before — and Shane Steichen’s offense is setting records as a result.
On March 13, 2024, Sam Darnold signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings to be rookie J.J. McCarthy’s backup. Nobody knew then that McCarthy would miss his entire rookie season to a torn meniscus, but when that happened in the preseason, Darnold became the starter. Under the brilliant play-calling of head coach Kevin O’Connell, Darnold was able to resuscitate a career that had almost always gone wrong since he became the third overall pick in the 2018 draft courtesy of the New York Jets. Darnold’s three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, which includes $55 million guaranteed, is testimony to how well that worked out.
On Nov. 29, 2024, Daniel Jones signed a $383,400 contract to attach himself to the Vikings’ practice squad. This came one week after Jones requested his release from the New York Giants, the franchise that had selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, after Jones was benched over the bye week in favor of Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito. This was due to Jones’ poor performance, and like Darnold, Jones was never really able to live up to overinflated expectations when MetLife Stadium was his home away from home.
Jones never played a snap, because Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was already busy saving Sam Darnold from himself rather successfully. Jones would have to wait his turn, and he got that opportunity when the Indianapolis Colts signed him to a one-year, $14.5 million contract with $13.15 million guaranteed on March 13.
Jones had his home, he had an able offensive designer in head coach Shane Steichen, and he had the opportunity to beat out a younger quarterback in the person of Anthony Richardson. Steichen and Colts general manager Chris Ballard had been saying for months that they wanted internal competition to light a fire under Richardson if such a fire could be lit, and after a preseason in which Jones did enough to earn confidence while Richardson didn’t, Jones was given the keys to the operation.
The Colts’ 33-8 season-opening win wasn’t something that Jones could really hang his hat on, because the current Dolphins might be the NFL’s most dysfunctional team if the Cincinnati Bengals could relax for a second. But in that game, Jones showed enough command of the offense to be a bright spot as the team headed into Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, owners of one of the NFL’s best defenses.
This was Jones’ star turn, and he took it with an authority he’d never shown before. No matter what Vance Joseph’s...
