SATURDAY, 9:13am: The Colts will place Jones on season-ending injured reserve today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 6:00pm: Colts defensive lineman Arthur Jones underwent ankle surgery to repair torn ligaments Friday and, as a result, will likely miss the entire 2015 season, tweets Jason Cole of Bleacher Report.
Jones’ short career with the Colts hasn’t gone according to plan. He was a disappointment in 2014 – his first season with the team – after signing a five-year, $33MM deal to leave Baltimore for Indianapolis, totaling 23 tackles and 1.5 sacks in just nine games (three starts). Prior to hurting his ankle last month, the fifth-year man was hoping for a bounce-back campaign. So were the Colts, who eschewed signing a big-time D-tackle or using a high-round draft pick on one this past offseason largely because of Jones’ presence, per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
Given his less-than-stellar tenure with the Colts, one wonders if Jones is long for the organization. In 2016, he’ll count $5.6MM against the Colts’ cap, with that number jumping up to $7.35MM for 2017 and 2018. If the club isn’t confident he can stay on the field going forward, Jones could be released in ’16 with just $3.3MM in dead money left on Indianapolis’ cap.