Eagan, Minn. — The smile said it all. Pressed Monday about his interest in signing the free agent quarterback Daniel Jones, Minnesota Vikings Coach Kevin O’Connell said 10 words — one of the shortest answers he’s ever given at a news conference — and then pursed his lips in a failed attempt to suppress a growing smile.
“Not really going into it at this point,” O’Connell said.
With the Vikings signing the former, Wednesday will have no reason to skip or move on from the topic. New York Giants Quarterback a One year contract For the rest of the season. But a more recent question is valid: what exactly was there to smile about?
Jones failed so spectacularly as the Giants’ starter that season that the team decided it was best for the franchise to not just bench him, but bury him on the depth chart and then waive him, instead. That he is at risk of an injury that could trigger the 2025 guarantees. . Since New York drafted him with the No. 6 pick in 2019, Jones ranks 27th out of 39 eligible quarterbacks in QBR.
Get someone to look at you the way Kevin O’Connell looks at someone when asked if he’s interested in signing Daniel Jones. pic.twitter.com/OD0kCGdlnS
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) November 27, 2024
The answer lies in the complicated quarterback matrix the Vikings find themselves in, one that seemed destined to remain dormant until the offseason but will now take center stage in the public debate surrounding the team.
Starter Sam Darnold Joined Minnesota on a one-year deal during the offseason and surpassed all expectations in leading the Vikings to a 9-2 record, already tied for a career high in touchdown passes (20). And he could command a hefty free agent contract.
Darnold is 27 years old and probably reaching the prime of his career, and re-signing him would make sense in the abstract. But rookie JJ McCarthyThe No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft is the team’s quarterback of the future. Adding a market-level veteran deal for Darnold would negate the roster-building benefit of having a starter on a restrictive contract. Plus McCarthy’s performance during training camp suggested he was still close to being ready to start. At the time, O’Connell said: “I really believe JJ has confirmed to me and a lot of our coaches and players that we’ve got the right guy for the future.”
McCarthy is also the only quarterback under contract through the 2025 season as a backup. Nick Mullins And Brett Rypin Deals are also ending. Even if you assume McCarthy makes a full recovery from surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee, which required Second surgery To deal with the swelling earlier this month, the Vikings will need to pair him with some sort of veteran.
This is perhaps the best way to think about Wednesday’s move. It’s highly unlikely the Vikings will need Jones to play this season, assuming Darnold is healthy and maintains his level of play. (However, Vikings fans will remember that the team went through four quarterbacks in 2023. It could happen.)
O’Connell has earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s best quarterback tutors, and his work with Darnold this season should serve as a resume-defining accomplishment. He threw a javelin. Team transfer from Kirk Cousins This spring, ultimately deciding on the combination of Darnold and McCarthy, and he said Monday that he had a strong assessment of Jones ahead of the 2019 draft. That season, O’Connell was Washington’s offensive coordinator and ultimately saw the Giants select Jones at No. 6 while Washington drafted him. Dwayne Haskins At number 15
If nothing else, the Vikings get a chance to get a closer look at Jones and work with him before they have to make an offseason decision on how to build depth at the position around McCarthy.
In the meantime, Jones will have the benefit of attending one of the NFL’s top quarterback schools before he needs to market himself in free agency. He’ll start on the Vikings’ practice squad, so he’ll also have a chance to sign with another team if the starting quarterback is gone in the next three weeks.
Could Jones be the player the Vikings want behind, or alongside, McCarthy in 2025? Maybe That would put Jones in the same spot Darnold found himself in as the 49ers’ backup in 2023, a move that helped accelerate his arrival in Minnesota. There is nothing wrong with finding out earlier rather than later. However, one risk is adding another veteran quarterback in the middle of a playoff push, suggesting the team is already thinking about the moment its current starter moves on.
Darnold has remained strong through some ups and downs during his brief Vikings tenure, and has been careful to avoid public discussion of his past or future. So Jones’ arrival won’t mean much to them, but at the very least, it will require an extra level of management from O’Connell, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown.
Darnold said Wednesday afternoon that the move would not affect any long-term considerations, adding: “Right now I’m focused on what we’re doing and continuing to focus on the task at hand. have been.”
There will be plenty of smiles in Minnesota today — along with a reminder that the future can come sooner than you think.