{"id":257958,"date":"2025-12-08T10:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T15:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=257958"},"modified":"2025-12-10T09:45:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T14:45:37","slug":"3-free-agent-quarterbacks-the-colts-could-sign-after-daniel-jones-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/08\/3-free-agent-quarterbacks-the-colts-could-sign-after-daniel-jones-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Free Agent Quarterbacks the Colts Could Sign After Daniel Jones’ Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Daniel Jones signing was a godsend for the Indianapolis Colts, as the former Giants quarterback was playing his best football under head coach Shane Steichen. Unfortunately, the former first-round pick suffered a season-ending Achilles injury<\/a> against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the team will have to carry on without him. While Jones was the primary catalyst for the Colts impressive season, the team will continue to try and win games without him.<\/p>\n

Colts Could Target These 3 Free Agent Quarterbacks After the Daniel Jones Injury<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately, that will be easier said than done. Jones was easily the best quarterback on the roster and, with backup Anthony Richardson sidelined<\/a> with an injury of his own, the Colts will turn to sixth-round rookie Riley Leonard. Leonard played as well as could be expected given the circumstances, completing 18 of his 29 attempts for 145 yards and an interception.<\/p>\n

While the Colts will move forward with Leonard and practice squad quarterback Brett Rypien, don’t be surprised if they add one of the following three players to the roster in the coming weeks. There aren’t many great options available at this point in the season, but these three could help the Colts in their fight for a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Corey Perrine – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Taylor Heinicke<\/h3>\n

The Colts need a quarterback with playoff experience, and Taylor Heinicke might be the best choice for the job. A former undrafted free agent, Heinicke first made a name for himself when he went blow-for-blow with Tom Brady<\/a> in the 2020 Wild Card round. While he ultimately fell to the seven-time Super Bowl champion, he put up a great fight while completing 26 of his 44 passes for 206 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while adding another 46 yards and a touchdown on the ground.<\/p>\n

Heinicke never developed into a franchise quarterback, but he was one of the league’s better backups and an adequate short-term starter at the peak of his career. While his physical skills have regressed since then, he can still be a decent worst-case scenario for the Colts. Seeing as nobody knows what Leonard can do when teams have time to prepare for him, Indianapolis should find a veteran with a more proven track record than Rypien.<\/p>\n

\"panthers
Main Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Ryan Tannehill<\/h3>\n

Having Ryan Tannehill second on this list shows just how desperate the Colts are. Indianapolis is very familiar with what Tannehill brings to the table, having faced him twice a year from 2019 to 2023. While he’s no superstar, he proved he can operate efficiently when surrounded by an elite run game and at least one above-average receiver. Jonathan Taylor is in the same tier as Derrick Henry, and while the Colts don’t have anyone who can match A.J. Brown’s talent<\/a>, they have a deep group of wide receivers.<\/p>\n

The biggest problem here is that Tannehill hasn’t played football since 2023. While Tannehill hasn’t officially filed paperwork to retire, Tannehill said<\/a> he had no interest in returning to the league. However, the quarterback could make an exception for the Colts. While Tannehill clearly has no interest in being a backup, he might entertain the possibility of returning as the unquestioned starter on a team fighting for a spot in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\"ryan
Main Photo: George Walker IV \/ Tennessean.com-USA TODAY NETWORK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Dorian Thompson-Robinson<\/h3>\n

Dorian Thompson-Robinson is easily the least experienced option of the bunch, which makes him the least desirable quarterback for the Colts. However, if the team would rather roll the dice on a player with relatively high upside, they could pursue the former fifth-round pick. Thompson-Robinson earned some playing time with the Cleveland Browns over the past two years, but those snaps didn’t result in sustained success. In his 15 career appearances, the UCLA product completed just 52.6% of his passes for 880 yards, one touchdown, and 10 interceptions.<\/p>\n

These numbers are objectively terrible, but it’s worth noting he’s looked good in the preseason. Given Cleveland’s historical inability to develop quarterbacks, Thompson-Robinson might have a better future with the Colts. If nothing else, it can’t hurt to kick the tires and give him a spot on the practice squad.<\/p>\n

\"Browns
Nov 19, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (17) throws a pass during the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indianapolis Colts will likely bring in a quarterback after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":258012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,12],"tags":[4688,7800],"class_list":["post-257958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-colts","tag-daniel-jones","tag-indianapolis-colts-news"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257958"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258286,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257958\/revisions\/258286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}