Duke Professional Athletes

Daniel Jones Gets the W — Now What?

The result was a win. The performance was something else entirely.

Daniel Jones guided the Indianapolis Colts to a 30-13 victory over the Washington Commanders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Week 4, pushing Indy to 2-2. But the box score told a complicated story: 143 passing yards, one rushing touchdown, and one interception — against a Commanders team that burned through its quarterback depth and turned to seventh-round rookie Athan Kaliakmanis before halftime. The optics of a shaky performance against a shorthanded opponent did Jones no favors.

The ugliest moment came early. Jones dropped back to pass and his own left tackle bumped into him, causing a fumble that Washington recovered — a sequence that set an anxious early tone. Calls to bench him surfaced online before halftime. Head coach Shane Steichen defended his quarterback after the game but pulled no punches when meeting with the media Monday, delivering a direct message: Jones has to know when to kill the play and live to fight another down. The implicit warning was clear — the leash has limits.

The scrutiny arrives at a particularly charged moment. Jones is just months removed from Achilles surgery, making his every stumble feel magnified. Sports Illustrated asked the question that's now circulating Indianapolis: is it too early to panic? The surrounding noise suggests the fanbase isn't willing to wait long for an answer. Multiple trade proposals have already been floated publicly — one pairing Jones with the New Orleans Saints — and at least one analyst called on the Colts to ship him out before his turnovers tank an otherwise functional roster.

What's not lost in the noise is that the defense continues to show real growth. Colts Week 4 grades credited the unit with another step forward in London, even while acknowledging that Jones' struggles kept a dominant scoreline from materializing. Jonathan Taylor did the heavy lifting on the ground, rushing for two touchdowns and 95 yards to carry Indianapolis across the line.

For Jones and the win is meaningful — this team was 0-2 not long ago. But the path forward requires sharper decision-making from the man under center, and Steichen has made clear he expects it.

Elsewhere Around the League

Duke had a handful of other alumni on the field in Week 4. DeWayne Carter suited up for the Buffalo Bills in their 26-29 loss to the New England Patriots, with Sports Illustrated flagging him as one of three underrated Bills defenders positioned to capitalize on opposing quarterbacks' struggles this season. Noah Gray logged two receptions for 17 yards as the Kansas City Chiefs edged the Las Vegas Raiders 30-27. Graham Barton started at center for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their 14-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers — a Packers offensive line that now features fellow Duke alum Laken Tomlinson at left guard after Green Bay signed him off the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. Coach Matt LaFleur indicated the reshuffled line is trending toward stability, a development that bodes well for Tomlinson's standing in Green Bay.

The Duke pipeline in the NFL runs wide and deep — but this week, all roads led back to London and a quarterback with something to prove.

Daniel Jones Steadies the Ship in Indy

Daniel Jones has never been one to inspire calm — but in Week 3, the Duke product delivered when it counted most.

The Indianapolis Colts quarterback's afternoon against the Houston Texans started in the worst possible way: a strip-sack by Will Anderson on the team's opening drive handed the Texans possession and kept alive what has become an uncomfortable pattern of first-quarter turnovers. But Jones didn't fold. He responded by directing scoring drives on the Colts' next three possessions, and the offense gradually wrestled control of a game that Indianapolis led 13-7 at halftime.

Jones finished with 235 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the 19-17 win — a final line that reflects both the frustration and the resilience of his afternoon. Postgame, he was candid with the media about wide receiver Josh Downs, acknowledging the connection the two need to keep developing. Sports Illustrated graded the defense as the true difference-maker, noting that Jones' turnovers nearly cost Indianapolis a result the team badly needed. Still, it was Jones engineering the comeback — and his teammates getting the ball back — that sealed it. For Blue Devils fans tracking his career resurgence in Indianapolis, it was an imperfect but meaningful afternoon.

Laken Tomlinson's Timely Return to Green Bay

While Jones was scrambling to fix a rough start, Laken Tomlinson was trying to fix an entire offensive line. The veteran Duke guard, signed off the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad during the week, landed in Green Bay as part of a sweeping Packers offensive line makeover that also brought in Mekhi Becton and Kevin Zeitler.

The context: starting guards Aaron Banks and Jacob Monk — the latter a fellow Blue Devil — both missed practice heading into the team's Week 4 trip to Tampa Bay, leaving Green Bay's interior in genuine disarray. Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich signaled that Tomlinson would be entering the starting lineup sooner rather than later. Whether the veteran can stabilize a unit that critics have called a "mess" remains the central question hovering over Green Bay's season.

Monk's absence is worth noting on its own — the Duke center has been part of the Packers' interior rotation, and his status heading into the Tampa matchup adds another layer of uncertainty to a unit still finding its footing.

Around the League

Noah Gray had a quiet but productive Sunday in Kansas City's 24-10 win over Miami — three receptions for 39 yards as the Chiefs TE continued his role as a reliable safety valve in the offense. Meanwhile, Shaka Heyward made a roster move that could open a larger door: the linebacker was signed off the Bengals' practice squad by the Miami Dolphins, giving the four-year Duke alum a shot at an active role in South Florida.

Other Duke alumni dressed and active in Week 3 included Michael Carter II with the Eagles (a 27-7 blowout win over Chicago), Chandler Rivers with the Ravens in a 34-31 edge-of-your-seat win over Dallas, Joe Giles-Harris with the Bengals in a narrow 30-27 loss to Pittsburgh, Aaron Hall in Carolina's 18-21 loss to Cleveland, and DeWayne Carter's Bills dispatching the Chargers 24-16. Stat lines for those players were not available.

The Blue Devils' footprint across the NFL remains wide — and in Week 3, the headlines belonged to two ends of the roster-building spectrum: a starting quarterback fighting for his job one possession at a time, and a veteran lineman arriving as a potential lifeline for a contender in need.

Daniel Jones Hangs Tough Against Mahomes — Then Loses in OT

Duke's most prominent NFL alumnus had a week that swung from gut-wrenching to genuinely encouraging — sometimes within the same 24-hour news cycle.

Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts dropped a 33-30 overtime thriller to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, a game that was as close as the final score suggests. Jones finished with 210 passing yards, one touchdown — a 1-yard strike to Tyler Warren on the opening drive — and one interception, adding 10 rushing yards in a performance that kept Indy competitive deep into overtime. The Chiefs needed a Patrick Mahomes–Travis Kelce combination that reportedly made NFL history to escape with the win.

The loss stings more given how close Indianapolis came. In overtime, Jones aired it out to Laquon Treadwell for a chunk gain into the red zone, but a fumble — ultimately ruled down by contact and not a turnover — didn't go Indy's way in the final sequence. A Chiefs safety was also handed an NFL punishment for a hit on Jones during the game, a signal that the league took notice of at least one play that went against the Duke QB.

The interception drew attention, too: Jones targeted Keenan Allen on a slant, but Allen failed to get into position and the Chiefs jumped the route. Allen is now facing a three-game NFL suspension stemming from a separate incident, a development that leaves Jones working with a thinner receiver corps heading into the stretch.

Slayton Signing Gives Jones a Familiar Weapon

The Colts moved quickly to address that receiver need. Ahead of Week 3, Indianapolis signed Darius Slayton — Jones's former Giants teammate — off the free-agent market, with the move accelerated by Alec Pierce aggravating a heel injury during the Kansas City game.

Slayton and Jones spent six seasons together in New York, and Slayton wasted no time explaining why the reunion makes sense. "We see the field similarly," Slayton said, per multiple reports, adding that he expects the shared chemistry to translate quickly to Indianapolis. Heavy Sports noted that their Giants-era numbers together carry genuine promise for the Colts' offense.

For Jones, who is working to establish himself as a viable long-term starter in Indy after his Giants tenure ended, having a receiver who already speaks his football language is no small thing — especially mid-season with the roster in flux.

Around the League

Elsewhere among Duke's NFL alumni, cornerback Chandler Rivers continued to build on a promising rookie season in Baltimore, with Sports Illustrated flagging him as a standout in the Ravens' Week 2 rookie report after a regular-season debut that drew praise from the organization.

Guard Laken Tomlinson is on the move: Green Bay signed him off the Cowboys' practice squad, per multiple reports, as the Packers scramble to patch an offensive line battered by injuries. The signing also comes with some Duke irony — Jacob Monk, another Blue Devil on Green Bay's roster, had to be evaluated for a stinger during the Packers' Week 2 win over the Jets, making the Tomlinson addition all the more timely.

It was a week that reminded Duke fans exactly where to look on Sunday afternoons. The headliner remains Jones, and if the Slayton reunion clicks, Indianapolis's offense could be worth tracking the rest of the way.

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.