For better or worse, the Indianapolis Colts are taking a page out of the 1996 Atlanta Falcons playbook.
The Colts placed the transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones on Wednesday, which carries a slight difference from the traditional NFL franchise tag.
While the transition tag involves a lower offer than the franchise tag ($37.8 million in Jones’ case compared to $43.9 million), it also allows the quarterback to continue negotiating a long-term deal with other teams.
Should Jones reach an agreement with another club, the Colts would have the right to match, but if they chose not to do so, they would lose the veteran quarterback without the draft compensation they would have received if they’d extended the franchise tag.
The transition tag has not been used since 1996, when the Falcons did so to retain quarterback Jeff George, another former Colts signal caller.
After a nightmare ending with the New York Giants in 2024, Jones thrived in a fresh start with the Colts in 2025 before his season was abruptly curtailed in Week 14 when he tore his Achilles.
Daniel Jones played in Indianapolis last season and thrived in a fresh start with the Colts until suffering a torn Achilles during a December 7 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars
The injury not only took down Jones’s season but the Colts’, too. They lost six straight games to round out the 2025 regular campaign, failing to make the postseason in the process.
But the organization clearly saw enough in Jones when he was healthy. NFL Insider Tom Pelissero reported on Monday that Jones is in talks with the Colts over a deal to stay in Indianapolis for the long term.
It is not yet clear how much Jones will be paid. He had a deal for just a year in 2025 worth $14million and the team were 8-4 when he got hurt with his season-ending tear.
Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reported that backup quarterback Anthony Richardson and the Colts have mutually agreed to seek a trade this offseason.
As well as suffering a number of injuries, which have restricted him to just 17 games in three years, Richardson has struggled for accuracy during his time in Indianapolis, completing just 47.7 percent of his passes in the 2024 campaign.
The former first-round pick only threw two passes in as many appearances last year, completing one of them, after falling behind Jones in the pecking order.
Nevertheless, the former Florida star wasn’t even active from mid-October onwards after fracturing the orbital bone near his eye in a bizarre pregame accident.
Indianapolis believe 2025 sixth-round pick Riley Leonard is capable of being his backup, meaning opportunities for Richardson would be in short supply next season.