Daniel Jones and the reality of where Colts are in…

WESTFIELD, Ind. – Welcome to the dog days of the preseason, when the newness of training camp has worn off and a large question begins to loom:

Is what we’re seeing real?

By mid-August, a few trends have usually emerged at training camps across the country. They could be at a player, unit or team level. And while joint practices and preseason games can be a barometer for some of those, it’s hard to know which developments are real and which ones aren’t until the regular season kicks off.

But there’s an exception here, and it’s if something just looks, well, normal. As in, a player/unit/team is doing something just like they had in the past. Those things are usually real.

And that brings us to Daniel Jones. It’s not just in the way he’s looked moving around Grand Park over the last few weeks, which has led several teammates to admit they’ve caught themselves forgetting he sustained a torn Achilles’ about eight months ago.

It’s in how Jones has operated the Colts’ offense, which for the most part has looked like how things were going in the first half of the 2025 season.

Jones has consistently thrown the ball with timing and accuracy, and completing a high rate of his passes even without Alec Pierce on the field. By the looks of it, he’s consistently got the Colts into the right plays, acting as the same sort of pre-snap maestro he was a year ago.

So based on the proof of concept we saw in all of this – Jones completed 68 percent of his passes, averaged 8.1 yards per attempt and had a 100.2 passer rating in 2025 – it’s easy to sit here on Aug. 16 and think what we’ve seen from Jones in camp indeed has been real.

And for a Colts team looking to replicate its offensive success from the first half of 2025, what Jones has shown during camp has been an awfully encouraging sign.

News & Notes from Sunday’s practice:

• Linebacker CJ Allen returned to practice after missing over a week due to a hamstring injury.
• Wide receiver Anthony Gould (groin), cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. (back) and running back DJ Giddens (hamstring) all did not participate.
• Head coach Shane Steichen said starters won’t play in the Colts’ preseason game next weekend against the Atlanta Falcons after two joint practices; Steichen said he’ll make a decision on if starters will play in the Colts’ preseason finale Aug. 29 against the Detroit Lions at a later date.
• Running back Seth McGowan broke off an explosive gain on a rushing play early in 11-on-11.
• Jones connected with wide receiver Ashton Dulin on a deep ball.
• Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon picked off Jones on a tipped pass by defensive end Laiatu Latu, while safety Cam Bynum came down with a Jones deep ball in 11-on-11.
• Cornerback Jaylon Jones stepped in front of an Anthony Richardson Sr. pass for an interception.
• Linebacker Jaylon Carlies registered a PBU.