Daniel Jones’ Achilles’ recovery remains on track,…

So what does it mean for the 2026 Colts season?

That Jones has been taking practice reps over the last few weeks means he’ll have a foundation on which to build during training camp. He of course has experience throwing to guys like Alec Pierce, Tyler Warren and Josh Downs, but it’s more about Jones getting used to his new normal in a post-Achilles’ tear world.

Steichen, though, doesn’t expect to dramatically alter what he’ll ask Jones to do once September rolls around – at least not with the way Jones has rehabbed and progressed to date.

“It depends on how he’s feeling,” Steichen said. “He’s on track right now, so I think that’s a big part of it. But again, I mean if he’s full go and ready to go, we’re not going to hold back anything.”

Something general manager Chris Ballard emphasized this offseason is Jones’ age (29) and athletic ability against concerns he’d wind up in the same realm as Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers – quarterbacks who struggled the year following a torn Achilles’. But Cousins was 36 and Rodgers 41 upon returning; neither are known as the athlete Jones is.

The Colts don’t need Jones’ return to look like a Jayden Daniels impression. They need it to look like Jones in 2025: A quarterback possessing a mind meld with his head coach and playcaller, and someone consistently able to get his offense into the right play (or out of the wrong one) and deliver passes with accuracy and timing.

Jones in 2025 averaged a career-low 3.5 rushing attempts per game; the Colts averaged 63 plays per game. A dozen of Jones’ 45 rushing attempts – a little over 25 percent – were quarterback sneaks. His mobility on play-action rollouts will be important, but it’s not like the Colts’ offense is built around his ability to rip off six or seven designed runs or scrambles per game.

Plus: A year ago, Steichen built an offense perfectly tailored to Jones’ strengths. Because both coach and quarterback see the game the same way, expect Steichen to be able to do the same in 2026 whether Jones is ultimately impacted by the Achilles’ or not.

We’ll see. But everything is on track – still with important work ahead – for Jones to get a lengthy runway to build up to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13, when he aims to take the field at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens.

“I think I’m closer,” Jones said. I think there’s still work to be done. I wouldn’t say I’m all the way there at this point. So yeah, I mean I feel good about where I am, and kind of where the rehab is taking me to this point. So like I said, still work to do and still got to make some progress, but I feel like I’m in a good spot.”