Colts Star Has Strong Patrick Mahomes Message After Daniel Jones News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 10:19 PM ET

Patrick Mahomes has been the Kansas City Chiefs' franchise player since he took over for Alex Smith during the 2018 NFL season. The former Texas Tech quarterback has led the Chiefs to five Super Bowl appearances, bringing home three rings and three Super Bowl MVPs. Not to mention his two NFL MVP awards.

While the Chiefs have been fortunate with Mahomes over the past eight years, other teams haven't been so lucky. Such as the Indianapolis Colts, who have now been through 11 quarterbacks since Andrew Luck retired before the 2019 season.

On Tuesday, the Colts revealed that first-year Indy QB Daniel Jones has earned the starting spot, replacing Anthony Richardson. And All-Pro offensive guard Quenton Nelson, who has been with Indianapolis since 2018, doesn't seem pleased.

Nelson Opens Up About Jones

Shortly after the Colts announced their decision to start Jones, Nelson was asked by reporters if he was frustrated with the constant change at quarterback. He is, and emphasized the importance of having a true “franchise player” under center, using Mahomes as an example.

“I would say so," Nelson said. "I think I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. You look around the league and just see the consistency of having a Patrick Mahomes or a quarterback behind you that’s been the franchise player for years and years and years. Getting to build that chemistry with that quarterback year after year is something that there is an advantage to when it comes to o-line play. So to answer your question, yeah.”

#Colts LG Quenton Nelson, asked by @KBowen1070 if it’s frustrating to keep changing QBs:

“I think I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. You look around the league and just see the consistency of having Patrick Mahomes or a QB behind you that’s been the franchise player for years …” pic.twitter.com/BVehSxbwX5
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) August 19, 2025

Nelson and the Colts Quarterbacks

After spending his college career at Notre Dame, Nelson was selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by Indianapolis, the same year Mahomes earned the start. He had one season with Luck before his retirement, and the Colts haven't found a cornerstone quarterback since. They've made the playoffs once since Luck's departure, eliminated in the Wild Card round in 2020.

Nelson has played with each of these quarterbacks under center since then:

2019: Jacoby Brissett (15 games), Brian Hoyer (1)
2020: Philip Rivers (16)
2021: Carson Wentz (17)
2022: Matt Ryan (12), Sam Ehlinger (3), Nick Foles (2)
2023: Gardner Minshew (13), Anthony Richardson (4)
2024: Anthony Richardson (11), Joe Flacco (6)
2025: Daniel Jones

Nelson and the Colts will open the regular season on September 7, hosting the Miami Dolphins. Mahomes and the Chiefs, on the other hand, will have a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in Week 1 to face the Los Angeles Chargers.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: