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The Colts’ 10 Most Indispensable Players ...... Who Can Indy Least Afford to Lose ???

(By James Boyd)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/746...nathan-taylor/

Every NFL team has players it can’t afford to lose. Injuries and other absences are always a factor in a franchise’s direction, and Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon is no stranger to how quickly a team can collapse when key players start missing games. She witnessed it first-hand last year when the Colts started out at 8-2 and ended up at 8-9. Irsay-Gordon, however, likened the Colts’ unraveling to pressing pause on a movie. She claimed that the conclusion to the 2025 campaign wasn’t the real ending, noting that the Colts’ wide array of injuries, most notably to quarterback Daniel Jones.

This year, Irsay-Gordon is hopeful that with better health and a revamped roster, this version of the Colts can deliver an Oscar-worthy finish by finally ending their 5-year playoff drought. Some may think that her faith is admirable. Others may view it as naïve. Either way, how far the Colts go will likely be determined by the performance of their most indispensable players. Who are they ??? Let’s take a look at the top 10 players the Colts cannot afford to lose in 2026.

OFFENSE

1) QB Daniel Jones

It’s obvious, but there’s no other place to start than with the starting quarterback. The Colts stamped Jones as the face-of-their-franchise by rewarding him this offseason with a 2-year, $88 Million contract that included $50 Million guaranteed at signing. Last year, he was playing at a Pro Bowl-level before fracturing his left fibula, which he played through, and then suffering a season-ending torn right Achilles. Questions about Jones’ mobility and durability are valid, and if he’s unable to regain his pre-injury form ...... or worse, if he suffers another major injury ...... the Colts may as well kiss their playoff hopes goodbye. Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson, who are competing for the back-up job, are fine reserve options if Jones misses a few games, but they’re too volatile to rely on for an extended period of time.

2) RB Jonathan Taylor

Taylor is so vital to the Colts’ success this year that there’s a compelling argument for him to hold-in for a new contract before he steps foot on the field again. The 3-time Pro Bowler is coming off of his 2nd straight season of at least 1,400 rushing yards, and he totaled a league-high 20 TD's in 2025. Indianapolis hardly has any reliable depth behind Taylor, with rookie 7th-round pick Seth McGowan and 2025 5-round pick DJ Giddens jockeying for the back-up role. Giddens totaled just 96 rushing yards in 9 games last season. Make no mistake, if Taylor misses time, the Colts’ running game will be in big trouble.

3) LT Bernhard Raimann

Raimann inked a 4-year, $100 Million contract extension last year that solidified him as the Colts’ left tackle of the future. Maintaining his high level of play is even more critical this year, considering the fact that Daniel Jones is returning from an Achilles injury. Indianapolis can’t afford for Jones to constantly be under duress from his blindside, so Raimann must be a pillar of consistent protection or else Indianapolis’s whole offense will crumble.

4) WR Alec Pierce

Pierce takes over as the Colts’ undisputed No. 1 receiver after the team retained him on a 4-year, $114 Million deal, and subsequently traded veteran Michael Pittman Jr to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittman led the Colts in receptions in 4 of the past 5 seasons. Pierce will see an increased target share in Pittman’s absence, but what makes him special is his ability to stretch the field. The 26-year-old, who is currently rehabbing from left ankle surgery, has led the league in yards-per-reception in each of the past 2 seasons, and his ability to attack the deep part of the field cannot be replicated by anyone else on the roster if he goes down.

5) LG Quenton Nelson

Nelson is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, evidenced by the 8 straight Pro Bowl nods he’s earned to start his career. The only other offensive lineman in NFL history to do that ...... Cleveland Browns legend Joe Thomas. Similar to Raimann, Nelson’s presence is even more important this year when noting that Daniel Jones will try to complete his first full season since 2022, which, fittingly, is when he led the New York Giants to the playoffs for the first time in 6 years. The Colts, obviously, are hoping to replicate that success.

DEFENSE

1) DE Laiatu Latu

Latu takes the top spot on defense for 2 reasons ...... First, he plays arguably the most important position, and second, the Colts have no other proven difference-makers at defensive end on their roster. Because of that, they need Latu, a 2024 1st-round pick and the first defensive player drafted that year, to have a breakout season. He played well last year, tallying 3 INT's, 12 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks. This year, he must crack double-digits in the sack department, something a Colts player hasn’t done since Justin Houston recorded 11 sacks in 2019. If Latu isn’t a game-changer up front, Indianapolis’s defense will fall apart at the point of attack.

2) CB Sauce Gardner

Gardner is entering his first full season with the Colts after being acquired in a block-buster trade deadline deal last year with the New York Jets. Of course, Gardner’s performance will garner plenty of attention since Indianapolis surrendered two 1st-round picks to get him. He’s supposed to be the unquestioned top dog in the cornerback room, and he’ll have plenty of chances to prove it amid a schedule that features standout wide receivers Nico Collins, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, DeVonta Smith and Ja’Marr Chase, among others. It’ll be Gardner’s job to help shut them down while elevating the Colts’ secondary.

3) DT DeForest Buckner

Buckner has been noncommittal this off-season about when he will return from the neck surgery he underwent at the end of last season. That’s troubling for a Colts defense that needs Buckner to return to his All-Pro form. If he isn’t that player, or close to it, that means that he won’t command the double-teams that are critical to creating one-on-one opportunities for his defensive linemates. Sure, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is known for being creative with his schemes and generating pressure, but no amount of ingenuity can replace what Buckner brings to the table when he’s fully healthy.

4) DT Grover Stewart

Stewart has long been one of the unsung heroes of the Colts’ defense. The jovial big man, who is often cracking jokes in the locker room, is a menace on the field and still one of the best run-stoppers in the NFL. His ability to clog the middle and stuff runs grants the rest of the defensive line the opportunity to get after the quarterback when foes are forced into passing situations. A healthy and productive Stewart will also go a long way in helping Indianapolis’s new starting linebacker tandem behind him, which will most likely be headlined by rookie 2nd-round pick CJ Allen.

5) FS Cam Bynum

Bynum, who inked a 4-year, $60 Million deal to join the Colts last year, delivered in his first season in Indianapolis. He registered a career-high 4 INT's and 8 passes defensed in 2025. Bynum may get overlooked when discussing Indianapolis’s defense since his teammates, Latu and Gardner, play more premium positions. But with Indianapolis poised to potentially start rookie 3rd-round pick A.J. Haulcy at strong-safety, Bynum’s experience should help shore up Indianapolis’s last line of defense. Bynum is also the only safety on the Colts’ roster who’s been a full-time starter in the past 2 years.

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How Fast Can Daniel Jones Go ??? It’s the Last Question in His Return From His Achilles Tear

(By Jonathan Jones)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/751...lles-recovery/

Riley Leonard was hours away from marrying his high-school sweetheart in front of more than 400 people ...... but first, he had to get a quick workout in.

Right down the road from First Baptist Church in Fairhope, Alabama is Philip Rivers’s estate, complete with a 50-yard field in his backyard amid the cornstalks. Because it’s impolite to deny the groom’s request on his wedding day, Leonard, the Indianapolis Colts’ backup quarterback, got his longtime friend and Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones to join him at Rivers’s home for a morning sweat.

Jones, one of 15 groomsmen at Leonard’s wedding later that day, had an easy out if he didn’t want to join Leonard on that early spring morning. At that point, Jones was less than 4 months removed from surgery on his right Achilles tendon. While he may not have been as active in the Alabama field of dreams as, say, Leonard, or Rivers’s 4-star recruit son Gunner, Jones did enough that day to surprise his longtime personal quarterbacks coach.

“He did a lot,” recalls QB Country founder David Morris, who has worked with Jones since before he had a driver’s license, and with Leonard since he was barely tall enough to ride a roller coaster. “I’ve been through an Achilles myself, and I know that it’s tender and it’s fragile, but I also know that once you start feeling good, you’re so excited. You’ve got to taper him down a little bit in those moments.

“He’s the type of guy where maybe sometimes he pushes too hard, and I’m like, ‘Hey, chill, chill. We don’t need to climb hard in the pocket and throw off-platform here.’ But he looked damn good ...... even then.”

Now, watching Jones at practice, there’s no hint of the injury to the casual observer. Wide receiver Josh Downs said that Jones looked so good at the start of camp that he forgot about the injury. 2 team sources, not authorized to discuss Jones’s health, echoed that, saying that Jones has looked like he never suffered an injury, let alone the sort that can be devastating for professional athletes.

Because the rupture was in Jones’s right foot, you may expect a right-handed quarterback to be a little cautious when he gets to the top of his drop, especially at a joint-practice with the New England Patriots last week. It was the first time he’d shared the field with an opponent since tearing his Achilles at the top of his drop in Jacksonville on December 7th.

“So far it hasn’t impacted him. It’s been phenomenal,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen told The Athletic after the practice. “During his re-hab process, he attacked it tirelessly. I mean, it was unbelievable. I’m not even kidding when I say this, it was 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. Like all day, training room, weight room, back to the training room, throwing, you name it.

“He’s like, ‘I am going to be ready,’ and he was very confident in that. Some guys when they go through re-hab, they’re like, ‘Yeah, I’m getting there.’ He’s just like, ‘Oh, I’m going to be there.’”

None of this is necessarily a surprise to the Colts. They did their homework on Jones back in 2025 when they signed him to a one-year, $14 Million contract to compete with Anthony Richardson for the starting job ...... they knew the kind of competitor that they were getting. More than that, they were comfortable enough with Jones’s re-hab 2 weeks before the wedding workout that they signed him to a 2-year, $88 Million extension ...... the largest 2-year contract in NFL history.

Jones won’t go as far as to say the process was lonely, but he admits that it was long. It is also fairly cut-and-dried to him ...... he listened to the professionals, and did the work. “It’s not that complicated,” he told The Athletic.

“Throughout this process, I’ve tried really hard to ...... when the trainers tell you that it’s good to do something, or the doctors tell you that you’re good to do something, to trust that and to go with that,” Jones says. “And then your job at that point is to be aggressive and to push it, and to make sure that you’re making the effort. If you trust them and they deem it safe and what you’re supposed to be doing, then it’s time to do it and push it. From that standpoint, I’ve felt good. I think that there’s still some progress to be made ...... and just building up reps on it and getting your body used to pushing off of it again, and feeling it again. I think that there’s a little bit of strength still to improve, but I think that that’s all part of the process, and I feel really good.”

Jones lists the people whom he’s listened to and trusts, everyone from Dr. Martin O’Malley, who performed the surgery on December 9th, to Colts strength-and-conditioning assistant Sam Khym ...... he makes it seem like he just took their word for it, and quietly followed their direction.

But Morris has known Jones for years, well before the Colts quarterback ever got his economics degree from Duke ...... he’s not the type to not ask questions.

“Some guys don’t want to know everything. Sometimes it’s too much information. Daniel wants to know everything,” Morris says. “So when it comes to recovery or training or rest and recovery, he’s going to nerd out on all of that. In the re-hab program, he’s just all-in, and he doesn’t just do it, he wants to know why we’re doing this with particular ligaments or muscle groups ...… and then he may even ask more questions.”

Jones previously suffered a season-ending injury when he tore his ACL midway through the 2023 season, just a few months after he signed a 4-year, $160 Million contract with the New York Giants. This injury and associated recovery were different ...... he was playing the best ball of his career when his Achilles snapped.

The Colts were tied atop the AFC South, and Jones had a shot at both the NFL MVP and Comeback Player of the Year awards. Instead, he missed the rest of the season, the Colts coaxed Philip Rivers out of retirement, and they haven’t won a game since.

Despite uncertainty around the health of $114 Million man Alec Pierce, and a seemingly omnipresent trade request from Richardson, the Colts are feeling optimistic about the offense ...... that’s in large part because of Jones. Whereas he split reps with Richardson through the second pre-season game last year, Jones has been the unquestioned QB-1 all camp this year.

Steichen watched every snap of Jones when he was in New York to build the offense around him. Now, Jones is displaying a greater mastery of what his head coach and play-caller is dialing up in Year 2.

“I think that it’s understanding the ins-and-outs of the system, especially when we’re on the ball and we’re going,” Steichen says of his quarterback. “To be able to get us into the right place, whether we have a kill on them or not. A lot of those conversations take place, and going into year 2, just the verbiage of spitting it out quickly. He’s got a great handle on it right now, so I’m really pleased with that.”

His confidence is back. Jones accepted injuries as a part of the game a long time ago, but said he still had a moment where he said to himself, “Dang, this is an awfully unlucky situation.” Emotionally, he’s back now, and mentally he’s moving faster this summer.

But physically ??? well …...

Jones has always been one of the fastest quarterbacks in the NFL. During an (infamous) 80-yard run against the Eagles in 2020, he hit a max speed of 21.23 MPH, at the time the fastest time logged by a QB in nearly 3 seasons.

Achilles injuries are historically difficult to return from, and there aren’t many examples of top-tier quarterbacks who suffer them and return to form. Not known for his footspeed, Kirk Cousins registered 19.15 MPH a month before his Achilles tear in 2023. Though he started Week 1 the next season, he didn’t break 15 MPH on the field until Week 13. It wasn’t until the following year that he broke 17 MPH.

The Colts’ QB room has an argument as the fastest in the league. Richardson nearly broke the combine when he ran the 40 in 4.43 seconds at 244 pounds. Leonard hit 20.23 MPH in the final pre-season game last year.

Leonard has been giving his groomsman grief because he hasn’t reached 20 MPH on the GPS post-surgery. The best that Jones has done so far ...... 19.7 MPH, he says.

“I got to get my numbers back up,” Jones says, “and I will.”

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