RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Indianapolis Colts looked like one of the hottest teams in the NFL last season — for the first half of the year, anyway.
They went 8-2 over the first 10 weeks, including wins over the Broncos and Chargers, both playoff teams, and two over their division rival Tennessee Titans.
Then, they lost "Indiana Jones." Quarterback Daniel Jones was enjoying the best season of his career and was even in MVP conversations for most of the year. Then he tore his Achilles in Week 14 against the Jaguars, ending his breakout season.
He finished the year with just 3,101 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, along with 164 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, and a 68% completion percentage.
Much of the offseason has been spent wondering when exactly Jones will be back to full speed. Achilles injuries typically take between nine and 12 months to heal, which put Jones' availability for Week 1 of the 2026 season in doubt.
But on Monday, Jones provided the latest on his injury, telling Pat McAfee on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he's fully cleared and will be ready for the start of training camp, which kicks off for the Colts on Wednesday.
Jones also had high praise for tight end Tyler Warren, who's expected to take on an even bigger role with Michael Pittman Jr. out of the picture.
"Tyler will be a huge part, no doubt," Jones said. "He was a huge part of our offense last year. You can move him all over the place. Just a really wide range of skills and abilities to affect the game. Without Pittman, he'll have a bigger role. But he would have a big role regardless. He's a tremendous player and an absolute stud."
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Indianapolis' offense looks much different heading into 2026. Pittman Jr., long the Colts' best wide receiver, was traded to the Steelers in the offseason, and Alec Pierce was given a new four-year, $114 million deal to take over as the team's WR1.
Josh Downs is expected to have a bounce-back year, and the offense will again lean heavily on Jonathan Taylor, who just rushed for 1,585 yards and a Colts franchise record 18 rushing touchdowns last season. But Warren will be given even more opportunity in Year 2, and he'll be expected to take another leap.
Warren was the 14th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Penn State and finished his rookie season with 817 receiving yards, the most among rookie tight ends, and four receiving touchdowns on 76 catches, including 112 targets.
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The Colts haven't won their division since 2014 and haven't made the playoffs since 2020. They appeared well on their way to break those streaks last year, but lost the last seven games of the season after the bye week — more than half of which came after Jones went down.
The AFC South remains wide open, but how far this team goes will likely hinge on how quickly Jones can rekindle the magic the Colts saw during the first half of the 2025 season — with Warren poised to be a key part of that equation.
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