Duke Professional Athletes

Two Duke alumni made NFL headlines this week for very different reasons — one returning from the physical brink, the other finding a new home in a division rivalry. Together, they gave Blue Devil fans plenty to track on both sides of the ball.

Daniel Jones: Back, But Baptized by Fire

The story of the week was always going to be Daniel Jones. After tearing his Achilles and watching the 2026 Colts season spiral without him, the former Blue Devil quarterback made his return under center in Indianapolis' Week 1 home opener against the Baltimore Ravens — and the Ravens made sure the welcome back wasn't warm.

Jones finished with 166 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception in a 41–23 blowout loss. The lone bright spot came early: Jones orchestrated a scoring drive capped by a Jonathan Taylor touchdown to open the season. But a second-drive interception shifted momentum to Baltimore, and the Colts never recovered. The Ravens' defense consistently pressured Jones throughout, making the contrast between expectations and reality painfully apparent.

Head coach Shane Steichen remained publicly committed to Jones after the game — one insider report indicated Steichen would "never" pull Jones from the starting role amid the rough debut — but the questions are already mounting. Anthony Richardson remains on the roster as QB2, and the Week 1 performance only amplifies the noise around that depth chart. Jones himself acknowledged what's coming in Week 2: a Sunday Night Football matchup against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, a primetime stage where his historical numbers have been brutal.

The Achilles return alone was a meaningful storyline. The performance, though, is where the real work begins.

Lucas Patrick: From Giants Country to Commander Territory

While Jones was navigating the AFC, fellow Blue Devil Lucas Patrick was quietly making moves in the NFC East. The veteran offensive lineman — who had most recently been with the New York Giants — signed with the Washington Commanders, an NFC East rival the Giants' fanbase won't love seeing him suit up for.

Reports indicated Washington visited with Patrick before ultimately inking the deal. Patrick's versatility along the interior offensive line made him an attractive option for a Commanders team looking to shore up depth. For Duke fans, it's another rep in the league for a program that continues to punch above its weight in NFL alumni presence.

Around the Rest of the Blue Devil Roster

Other Duke alumni saw action in Week 1 with quieter footprints. Noah Gray caught one pass for 5 yards in the Chiefs' 31–10 Monday night win over the Broncos. Michael Carter II was active for the Eagles in their narrow 24–22 victory over Washington — a game that, incidentally, will soon be Patrick's new team. DeWayne Carter suited up for the Bills in back-to-back weeks as Buffalo topped both Houston (36–31) and Detroit (41–31). Josh Blackwell was active for the Bears in their lopsided 59–37 win over Carolina, where Aaron Hall was on the other sideline for the Panthers.

Jacob Monk was on the field for the Packers in Green Bay's 39–22 Week 1 loss to Minnesota — a game the coaching staff has since flagged for offensive line review heading into Week 2.

Duke's NFL footprint remains wide. Whether Jones can steady the ship in Indianapolis will determine how loudly Blue Devil alumni are talked about the rest of this season.

Duke in the NFL | Week of Aug. 30–Sept. 5, 2026

Nine months after tearing his Achilles, Duke's most prominent NFL alumnus is back under center — and wearing a captain's patch to prove it.

Daniel Jones has officially reclaimed his starting quarterback job in Indianapolis heading into the 2026 NFL season opener, capping a recovery that the Colts and outside observers alike are treating as quietly remarkable. The injury — a fractured fibula and torn Achilles suffered in December 2025 — derailed what had been arguably the best season of Jones' career and forced the Colts to sign Philip Rivers off the couch in a desperate playoff push that ultimately fell short. Now, fully healthy by all visible indications, Jones is the unquestioned starter and has been named a team captain ahead of Week 1.

Jones addressed the honor publicly, describing what the captaincy meant to him after a year of rehabilitation and uncertainty. It's a notable pivot point for a quarterback whose career looked terminal just two seasons ago — Jones arrived in Indianapolis in 2025 as a reclamation project and wound up earning genuine franchise credibility before the injuries hit.

The stakes heading into the opener are steep. Indianapolis draws Baltimore, Kansas City, and Houston in their first three games — a brutal gauntlet that Sports Illustrated flagged as an immediate stress test for Jones' health claims. Looking good in training camp is one thing; absorbing pressure from elite pass rushes is another. The Colts' offense was on a historic pace through the first half of 2025 before Jones' body broke down, and Fox Sports analysts have made the case that replicating that production is a realistic goal — provided Jones stays upright.

The backup situation behind Jones has also been resolved. Head coach Shane Steichen announced that Anthony Richardson Sr. won the QB2 role over second-year signal-caller Riley Leonard, ending a training camp competition that drew real intrigue given Richardson's prior trade request. That depth chart clarity removes at least one variable from the Colts' pre-season uncertainty — though at least one national writer has noted that the door remains open to a Jones trade if the season goes sideways, suggesting his long-term tenure in Indy is far from guaranteed.

Fellow Blue Devil Eli Pancol is also on the Colts' roster as a wide receiver, giving Durham a small but meaningful footprint on Indianapolis' 53-man squad as the season kicks off.

For Duke fans, this is the story worth watching all fall: a quarterback who rebuilt his reputation from scratch, survived catastrophic injury, and now leads a legitimate AFC contender into a gauntlet schedule on one surgically repaired leg. The résumé is compelling. The test starts now.