WESTFIELD, Ind. – Daniel Jones found a way to not just be cleared to practice seven and a half months after sustaining a torn Achilles', but he found a way to look like his old self over the first handful of Colts training camp practices this week at Grand Park.
So when Colts Owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon talked to her team on Tuesday about her mantra for 2026 – "Find A Way" – one of the most important figures in the organization had been embodying it for months.
"As we reflected on last season, this one phrase just kept coming to mind," Irsay-Gordon said, "and that was find a way."
The story of the Colts' 2025 season was that, ultimately, the team didn't find a way to turn the tide against a seven-game losing streak. Injuries to Jones, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and cornerback Sauce Gardner certainly played a role, but Irsay-Gordon has made clear since January those cannot be an excuse.
"That's something every team goes through," Irsay-Gordon said.
Instead, the Colts lost five one-score games and had tremendous chances to win against the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks between Weeks 12-15. By the time the Colts lost back-to-back one-score games to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Texans to end the 2025 season, they had crashed out of the NFL playoff picture.
"What are you doing to do when that adversity comes? Are you going to stay disciplined, are you going to stay consistent or are you going to go into the fetal position? And I think that kind of comes down to the find a way mindset," Irsay-Gordon said, "which is to have that inner belief."
Irsay-Gordon is confident in the people charged with carrying out her mantra, from general manager Chris Ballard to head coach Shane Steichen to Jones, along with the players, coaches and staffers that populate the Colts. Retaining the triumvirate of Ballard, Steichen and Jones gives the Colts the sort of top-down consistency they believe can lead to replicating the success of the first 10 weeks of 2025, when this team was 8-2 and looked like a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
But again, internally the Colts cannot operate as if their 2026 success hinges primarily on health. For Irsay-Gordon, it'll come from having the right mindset to work through the challenges that inevitably arise for all 32 teams in the NFL.
"It's hard when we've had years of not getting quite over the hump, but I think that's why we're kind of hammering on that," Irsay-Gordon said. "If we have all the talent, we have everyone we need to get where we need to go, we just have to continue to make sure we're building a culture that is promoting that inner beliefs and inner faith that we can do it."
A lot of carrying out this mantra will fall on Jones. That's a good thing. Because even before the Achilles' injury, Jones found a way to overcome adversity – whether it was being released by the New York Giants or not being guaranteed a starting gig when he signed with the Colts.
"Daniel has a "find a way" mindset," Irsay-Gordon said. "... I believe he's going to find a way to figure it out and stay healthy and get us where we need to go."
