EAGAN, Minn. — The smile mentioned all of it. Pressed Monday about his curiosity in signing free agent quarterback Daniel Jones, Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell uttered 10 phrases — one of many shortest solutions he is ever given at a information convention — after which pursed his lips in an unsuccessful try to suppress a rising grin.
“Actually not going to get into that at the moment,” O’Connell mentioned.
There might be no motive to skip over the subject Wednesday, or transferring ahead, after the Vikings signed the previous New York Giants quarterback to a one-year contract for the rest of the season. However an up to date query stays legitimate: What precisely was there to smile about?
Jones failed so spectacularly because the Giants’ starter this season that the group determined it was higher for the franchise to not solely bench him, however to bury him on the depth chart after which waive him, relatively than threat an damage that might set off 2025 ensures. Since New York drafted him with the No. 6 choose in 2019, Jones ranks twenty seventh out of 39 eligible quarterbacks in QBR.
Get somebody who seems at you the best way Kevin O’Connell seems at somebody when requested if he has curiosity in signing Daniel Jones. pic.twitter.com/OD0kCGdlnS
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) November 27, 2024
The reply lies within the difficult quarterback matrix the Vikings discover themselves in, one which appeared destined to stay dormant till the offseason however will now take a outstanding place in public dialogue across the group.
Starter Sam Darnold joined Minnesota on a one-year contract through the offseason and has surpassed all expectations in main the Vikings to a 9-2 file, having already topped his profession excessive in landing passes (20), and he may command a hefty free agent contract.
Darnold is 27 and maybe hitting the prime of his profession, and re-signing him would make sense within the summary. However rookie J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 choose of the 2024 draft, is the group’s quarterback of the long run. Including a market-level veteran deal for Darnold would negate the roster-building benefit of getting a starter on a rookie contract. Plus McCarthy’s efficiency throughout coaching camp urged he was near being prepared to begin even then. On the time, O’Connell mentioned: “I actually imagine that J.J. has type of confirmed to me and a whole lot of our coaches and gamers that we bought the precise man within the constructing for the long run.”
McCarthy can be the one quarterback underneath contract for the 2025 season, as backups Nick Mullens and Brett Rypien are on expiring offers as properly. Even in case you assume McCarthy will make a full restoration from surgical procedure to restore the meniscus in his proper knee, one which required a second surgical procedure earlier this month to deal with swelling, the Vikings would want to pair him with a veteran of some type.
That is in all probability one of the simplest ways to consider Wednesday’s transfer. It is fairly unlikely the Vikings will want him to play this season, assuming Darnold stays wholesome and maintains his stage of play. (Vikings followers will bear in mind, nevertheless, that the group went by way of 4 quarterbacks in 2023. It will possibly occur.)
O’Connell has earned a status as one of many NFL’s greatest quarterback tutors, and his work with Darnold this season ought to function a resume-defining accomplishment. He spearheaded the group’s transition from Kirk Cousins this spring, in the end deciding on a mix of Darnold and McCarthy, and he mentioned Monday that he had a powerful analysis of Jones previous to the 2019 draft. That season, O’Connell was Washington’s offensive coordinator and in the end watched because the Giants chosen Jones at No. 6 whereas Washington drafted Dwayne Haskins at No. 15.
If nothing else, the Vikings get an opportunity to see Jones shut up and work with him months earlier than they should make an offseason determination on constructing the place’s depth round McCarthy.
Jones, in the meantime, will get the advantage of attending one of many NFL’s high quarterback colleges earlier than he must market himself in free company. He’ll begin out on the Vikings’ follow squad, so he’ll even have the possibility to signal with one other group if a beginning quarterback goes down within the subsequent three weeks.
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May Jones be the participant the Vikings need behind, or beside, McCarthy in 2025? Maybe. That will put Jones in an identical spot to the place Darnold discovered himself in because the 49ers’ backup in 2023, a transfer that helped spur his arrival in Minnesota. There is not any hurt find out earlier relatively than later. The one threat, nevertheless, is including one other veteran quarterback in the midst of a playoff push, which suggests the group is already excited about the second when its present starter strikes on.
Darnold has been rock strong by way of some ups and downs throughout his temporary Vikings tenure, and he has been cautious to keep away from public dialogue about his previous or his future. So Jones’ arrival may not matter a lot to him, however on the very least, it is going to require an additional stage of administration from O’Connell, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown.
There might be loads of smiles in Minnesota at this time — together with a reminder that the long run can come quicker than you assume.
