Daniel Jones took to social media Thursday evening to express his gratitude for the support he has received after sustaining a season-ending Achilles injury last Sunday. The 28-year-old quarterback, in the 13 games he played for the Colts this season, quickly gained the respect of his teammates, coaches and Colts fans for his leadership skills, impressive work ethic and dedication.
Jones' full statement (posted to Instagram) was this:
"Thank you to my teammates, coaches, the Colts organization, and all the fans for the overwhelming support. Tough way to end this season but it has been an honor to wear the horseshoe and play for Colts fans. I'll miss lining up with my guys, but I'll be riding with them every step of the way. Go Colts!"
Here's what Jones' teammates and coaches had to say about their quarterback this week:
DeForest Buckner: "I feel terrible for Daniel. Because he was able to come here and win the starting job and really resurrect his career in general, playing at a high level. And (for) it to get cut short like that, it's devastating. And we all know the competitor and the warrior he is, playing with a broken fibula for the past couple of weeks, fighting through that. That's a leader if I've ever seen one."
Riley Leonard: "Daniel is the toughest guy that I've ever been around by far in my life. He's the most competitive person that I've ever met."
Bernhard Raimann: "He's our brother. He's giving it all for us, and we do the same for him. That's the kind of brotherhood you want and need in the locker room. And obviously we're praying for his quick recovery. But yeah, I would do anything for the guy. He's our quarterback."
Jim Bob Cooter: "Yeah, really tough. Really tough outcome. Feel for him. He's in pretty positive spirits, all things considered, but just battling for his teammates, for us, for the Colts, for the fans, fighting through a lot of stuff to be out there and just hate it for him...He's super-duper tough. All the respect in the world to him. I've got guys reaching out from my past that just want to let Daniel know how impressed they are with him. He's just been so impressive the way he's handled this. It's a shame for him, but I think the future is real bright, and we're looking forward to that."
Shane Steichen: "I obviously just really feel for him – just an unfortunate situation. The work that he puts in and the effort on a day-to-day basis. The grind. A team captain for us, just very unfortunate. One of the toughest guys I've ever been around, so just praying for a speedy recovery for him.
"...One of the best I've ever been around in the quarterback room. Just his mentality and the way he goes about his business, the way he works, the way he treats people. Just phenomenal."
