Daniel Jones signed a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts back in March, a contract with a base salary of $14 million, and the potential to reach $17.7 million should he reach all incentives of the deal.
Following six bumpy years with the New York Giants that ended abruptly after Jones' request to be released late last season, the 28-year-old quarterback was not only getting a fresh start with the Colts, he would also be getting a legitimate shot to be the team's starter.
And Jones has more than made the most of that opportunity.
After beating out 2023 first-round pick Anthony Richardson to win the starting job, Jones has proceeded to lead Indianapolis to a 7-2 record and a whole lot of points, as the Colts currently lead the NFL in offense.
Now, the burning question is, of course, whether or not the Colts should extend Jones while they can rather than allow him to hit the open market in the offseason.
While opinions will certainly vary there, Giants legend and former teammate of Jones, Eli Manning, made it crystal clear about what needs to happen during his appearance on the Up & Adams show with Kay Adams.
After Adams asked what his thoughts might be if Jones does get a contract extension, Manning offered up a blunt response, paired with his signature self-deprecating humor.
"Just excited for Daniel. As I said, no one deserves it more, or has worked harder, and he did it from day one," Manning began. "If you're gonna lose your job to someone like I did [Jones took Manning's starting spot with the Giants in 2019], at least it's to someone that’s coming in and working really hard and earned the right, and prepared and studied."
While Jones is clearly having a somewhat surprisingly great season after escaping New York, Manning's comments come at an interesting time.
The Colts are coming off a disappointing 27-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a defeat that largely fell on the shoulders of Jones, who threw three interceptions, by far his worst performance of the season.
To put that into perspective, in the Colts' previous eight games, the former No. 6 overall pick had thrown a total of just three interceptions.
Nonetheless, Jones has strong backing from a major voice in Manning, who went on to tell Adams that the 28-year-old QB "was a sponge" in the Giants quarterback room who "wanted to learn" and was "very coachable."
Regardless of outside voices, Jones has eight more games to let his play do all of he talking.
