Zaire Franklin Seemingly Is Stunned Hearing Daniel Jones’ Name Called As A Colts Captain (Video)

There were a fair few QB battles during the 2025 NFL offseason. One of the tightest competitions was in Indianapolis, where the Colts had veteran Daniel Jones and youngster Anthony Richardson going toe-to-toe. Despite having the higher ceiling, Richardson lost out in that battle to Jones.

To be fair, Richardson has hardly done anything to prove that he deserves the job and can complete more than half of his passes at the NFL level. Jones isn’t great either. He was 17-for-32 for 245 yards, no TDs, and no INTs in two preseason appearances. But he seems like a serviceable starter when compared to the erratic Richardson and his bionic arm.

Their teammates likely had their own preferences for who would win out in this competition between Jones and Richardson. Among the longest-tenured players on the team is former 2018 seventh-round linebacker Zaire Franklin, a six-time team captain. A Pro Bowler and Second Team All-Pro in 2024, Franklin is coming into his own, and he was diplomatic when asked about his team’s QB competition.

“Both those guys battled and competed. I definitely felt like they both was handling it the right way—Anthony and Daniel. They both was just going about their work. Obviously, they got two different personality types, but I can see them pushing and making each other better, which was best for the team,” Franklin started.

“Honestly, just from my point of view and seeing a lot from them, I feel like this team is ready to go. This locker room is ready to go. I think we believe a lot in ourselves, who we are as a team,” he added.

That was the definition of “coach-speak” or “player-speak.” Franklin didn’t want to make his feelings known to the world. However, the team recently filmed the squad’s reaction to the announcement of their captains, and Franklin noticeably did not go along with the celebration when Jones’ name was called.

The other captains were DeForest Buckner, Franklin, Kenny Moore, and Quenton Nelson. While Franklin might not be overly jazzed about who’s taking snaps for his team, another veteran defensive captain, Buckner, has bought into the Danny Dimes hype.

“He’s always the same. He goes up to the line of scrimmage the same guy – calm, cool, collected. He does a really good job with communicating with the rest of the offense and really making the right checks and stuff at the line of scrimmage. So, he’s been a great competitor.”

Head coach Shane Steichen was very deliberate when he made his announcement of Daniel Jones as the starter last week. He said that not only is Jones the Week 1 starter, but he also intends to start him throughout the season. That means Franklin better get used to No. 17 under center for his team.

Indy gets going with a home matchup with the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. That gives Jones and company a chance to get a quick start to this campaign.