The Indianapolis Colts face one major decision at the beginning of the 2026 offseason. Indy has been working on extending QB Daniel Jones after his impressive run during the first half of the 2025 season. The Colts will want to figure out the contract situation for their starting quarterback before addressing the rest of the roster. Thankfully, those negotiations could reach a conclusion soon, one way or another.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero gave an update on the contract negotiations between Jones and the Colts before the NFL Scouting Combine.
“It is also a big week for the Colts and Daniel Jones, who have been in negotiations on a multi-year contract extension to keep him in Indianapolis,” Pelissero said on Monday. “The sides, I anticipate, would meet face to face this week. Jones wants to stay here in Indianapolis. The Colts want to keep Jones, who was playing his best football prior to injuries last year, including the Achilles tear that he's rehabbing from.”
Jones had a breakout season in 2025, leading the Colts to a 8-2 record going into their bye week. Unfortunately, everything went wrong after that.
Jones suffered a series of injuries, with the most significant being his season-ending Achilles tear. The Colts never recovered after that, finishing the regular season on a seven-game losing streak.
Pelissero noted that the NFL's franchise tag deadline on March 3rd is a natural end point for this round of contract negotiations.
“The question really is what exactly is that number that makes sense on a multi-year deal? If the sides cannot come to an agreement on that, a tag is an option,” Pelissero added. “Whether that is the franchise tag or the transition tag, the deadline for applying it is March 3rd, just two days after the Combine ends.”
Pelissero also suggested that Indy would like to keep both Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce. If the Colts get their way, one player will receive the franchise tag and the other will get a long-term extension.
Hopefully both sides can make some progress at this week's NFL Scouting Combine, which coincidentally takes place in Indianapolis.
