Daniel Jones Renaissance Continues While Giants Seek First Win

Daniel Jones’s strong second act with the Colts continues. 

On Sunday, Jones led the team to a 41–20 win over the Titans to improve the Colts to 3–0 on the season. He threw for a touchdown and completed 72% of his passes. 

After being released by the Giants in November 2024, Jones appears to be the latest starting quarterback to flame out with the team that drafted and reinvent himself elsewhere, similar to Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, and Sam Darnold. 

The Colts have scored the most points in the league through Sunday and are second in yards behind the Bills. 

Jones still counts as a $22 million cap hit for the Giants this season after being granted his release in the middle of a $160 million contract he signed with the team in March 2023. In March, he signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Colts and beat out incumbent starter Anthony Richardson in training camp. 

In between his Giants and Colts stints, Jones finished the 2024 season with the Vikings and was briefly on the active roster, which means the team will receive a compensatory pick for losing him in free agency. The compensatory pick is currently projected to land in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Jones’s contract pays him $100,000 for each win where he plays more than 50% of the snaps, netting him $300,000 for the 3–0 start.

His former team remains winless after losing to the Chiefs 22–9 on Sunday night. Giants quarterback Russell Wilson threw for two interceptions in the loss. A former core piece thriving after an awkward departure is nothing new from the Giants. They saw Saquon Barkley dominate the league last year en route to a Super Bowl, and Barkley is watching Jones closely this year.

“Outside of the Philadelphia Eagles and myself, I want no one else to perform at a high level [more than] Daniel Jones,” Barkley said. “The way he carries himself and the way he works and the way he competes, it’s going to show at some point.”