Consider this one of those storylines that doesn't feel earth-shattering around Indianapolis – certainly not if you've been paying attention to the drumbeat of news from training camp and preseason practices – but might be surprising to those outside confines of central Indiana.

Daniel Jones has taken every single snap with the first-team offense since training camp began, save for a handful last Thursday when the Colts opted to have preseason Week 3 starter Anthony Richardson Sr. get some work with the guys he'd play with in that game. Maybe a better way to put it: Jones did not need a rest day, nor did he miss a practice due to an injury, nor did he need to even dial things over the last five weeks.

So what has been the tangible impact of Jones' consistent availability less than nine months removed from sustaining a torn Achilles'?

"I think he had almost 450 more throws than he did a year ago at this time," general manager Chris Ballard said, "because he's getting all the reps."

A year ago, Jones spent training camp competing with Richardson to be the Colts' starting quarterback. With that, he shuttled between the first- and second-team offense until he was named the team's QB1 on Aug. 19.

That lack of consistent first-team reps certainly didn't negatively impact the Colts' offense to start last season, as they scored on an outrageous 57.6 percent of their possessions over the first 10 weeks, easily the highest mark in the NFL. But as the 2026 Colts look to not only replicate that first-half success, but build on it, having their starting quarterback on the field for the entirety of preseason prep is a major step toward those goals.

And it shouldn't be taken for granted that Jones got to that point of being consistently available (he also played well in those practices, which also shouldn't be lost here). Jones, from the moment he underwent surgery, was determined to be fully cleared for the start of training camp. It took plenty of work to get to this point – and with a week and a half until the start of the 2026 season, Jones' progression to get back on the field stands as one of the most important offseason developments for the Colts.

Even if everyone inside the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center expected this out of Jones.

"I think that's a credit to him and the work he put in and how diligent he was with each step of the rehab process and a determination to get back and be who he knows he can be," Ballard said. "... We felt who he was and the work he would put in, we thought he was going to be – the percentages were high that he was going to get back."