INDIANAPOLIS — A sheepish smile crept across Daniel Jones’ face. It was as if the Indianapolis Colts’ starting quarterback had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The question that made the veteran break from his usually stoic demeanor was fitting: “Did you ask to play in 11-on-11?”“Yeah, I asked,” Jones responded Wednesday at Colts minicamp, shrugging his shoulders. “But I think, right now, just seven-on-seven.”Jones’ voice trailed off during his answer, as though he’d just been grounded by his parents. But Indy’s swift denial of his request to advance from seven-on-seven drills to full team sessions is understandable. Jones, 29, is just over six months removed from when he ruptured his right Achilles last December.The fact that participating in 11-on-11 is even a choice at this point, however, speaks to the remarkable rehab Jones has had since undergoing surgery. He’s already shown flashes of once again being the player who led the Colts to a surprise 8-2 start last year, ripping TD passes to Josh Downs and Ashton Dulin in seven-on-seven during minicamp.
practice vibes with JD. pic.twitter.com/RiOpASYOEk
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) June 10, 2026But there are also signs of uncleared hurdles. The most obvious one is how Jones reacts when a play is well-covered by the secondary, like a few were Wednesday. Instead of scrambling out of the pocket like his fully healthy backups, Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson Sr., to find an open receiver or run for the first down, Jones has been told to surrender when the play breaks down.“I think there’s still work to be done,” Jones conceded. “I wouldn’t say I’m all the way there at this point. So, yeah, I feel good about where I am and kind of where the rehab is taking me to this point. … I’m in a good spot.”Jones went into further detail about a few specific components of his rehab. He added that the Colts have tracked the “velocity and spin rate and distance” on his throws using GPS-chipped footballs to make sure he’s reaching all of his checkpoints.“It’s my back leg, my push leg,” Jones said, explaining the important of his right Achilles. “There’s a strength component. There’s an ankle dorsiflexion component to loading into that front (foot), loading into that hip, loading into that side, but I felt strong throwing for a while now, and I think you can measure that with ball velocity and all that. So, I feel like I’ve kind of got to that point probably a month, two months ago.”Colts coach Shane Steichen said the plan is for Jones to resume 11-on-11 when training camp begins next month. He’ll get his first opportunity to face another team when the Colts head to New England for a joint practice with the Patriots on Aug. 11.But even as Jones earns a longer leash during his rehab, Steichen said the team will still implement guardrails for the player whom Colts star left guard Quenton Nelson referred to as “the hardest worker on the team.” Nelson has blocked for a slew of QBs during his tenure and is thrilled to have Jones back in the fold for another season.“He gets here early. He’s here late, and he’s doing things that matter to help him be at his best,” Nelson said. “You just really appreciate that in all facets of the game. He works endlessly to reach his whole potential, and that’s just a guy tuou can really appreciate, especially at that position. He sets the example for the whole team because everyone’s looking at him.”Backup QBs, plus a soft deadlineLeonard and Richardson have continued to split the backup reps during minicamp, and Steichen said that plan will continue into training camp. Neither passer has separated himself this spring, according to their coach.“They’re both doing some really good things, and it’s back and forth right now,” Steichen said. “So, we’ll see where that goes.”Leonard was intercepted in seven-on-seven Tuesday by rookie linebacker Bryce Boettcher, who returned Leonard’s errant throw for a touchdown. Richardson, however, hasn’t looked much better as both QBs have had up-and-down showings in minicamp.
