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In sports, the worst thing you can do is miscalculate where you\u2019re at as an organization.<\/p>\n
At the 2025 NFL trade deadline, it\u2019s looking as if the Indianapolis Colts might have done just that.<\/p>\n
The Colts went into November’s deadline at 7-2. Undoubtedly, they were one of the hottest teams in the AFC, capitalizing on a reclamation year out of former New York Giants first-round draft pick Daniel Jones.<\/p>\n
At the deadline, the Colts traded two first-round draft picks to the New York Jets for Sauce Gardner<\/a>, one of the best cornerbacks in football.<\/p>\n Since then, the Colts have come back to Earth.<\/p>\n Gardner suffered a noncontact calf injury that isn\u2019t as serious as it initially looked. The Colts have won just one game since making the blockbuster trade. And now, things have taken a turn for the worse.<\/p>\n Jones suffered a ruptured Achilles injury, ending his promising reclamation season and potentially setting the Colts back several years.<\/p>\n With Jones succeeding, it looked like the Colts found a perfect bridge off of Anthony Richardson, the flashy Florida quarterback who greatly struggled during his limited action in the NFL. While Richardson was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, it was Jones that seemed primed to quarterback the Colts to the promised land.<\/p>\n Richardson suffered a broken orbital during warmups in Week 6. While he\u2019s eligible to be activated at some point this season, he still has not been cleared for a return<\/a>. While it certainly felt like the former top five draft selection is no longer in the long-term plans \u2013 but he might need to be.<\/p>\n Jones will likely miss most of next season due to the ruptured Achilles tendon. Former Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard has been serving as the team\u2019s backup with Richardson sidelined, but he\u2019s not a legitimate option in the modern NFL.<\/p>\n While the injury to Jones might have doomed any hope that Indianapolis had at the postseason this year, it also clouds their long-term view.<\/p>\n Indy\u2019s first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 belong to the Jets. That\u2019s going to make it almost impossible to select another first-round quarterback.<\/p>\n It feels like the Colts will be forced into trying another reclamation project at quarterback. Perhaps they roll the dice and trade for Mac Jones, who looked good in replacement of Brock Purdy for the San Francisco 49ers. Maybe they can get the Cleveland Browns on the horn and trade for Deshaun Watson<\/a> or Dillon Gabriel with Shedeur Sanders emerging.<\/p>\n The future surrounding the Colts is tremendously muddy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to blame them for making a trade that would have accelerated their timeline to contend for a Super Bowl, but without a franchise quarterback on the roster, this was always the risk.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n