Daniel Jones signs with the Vikings

[Woody]

No details have been released; however, I suspect the contract will only be the remainder of this season. Again, there was really no market for him, which is why he's currently on the Minn practice squad.

According to reports there were 10 to 12 teams interested in him.
He is on practice squad to learn offense.   May be stop gap guy with Macarthy coming back next
Dom
Darnold will probably be a Giant next


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[todge]

Look for Daniel Jones to be the starter in Minnesota next year. A QB is only as good as his supporting cast and he finally has a decent offensive line and an outstanding WR. I think he'll have little trouble beating out McCarthy who many felt was a marginal prospect at best. Jones has proven you can win with him as we saw in 2022.


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[MightyGiants]

So question to the group- does this make Sam Darnold a viable/potential target as a bridge QB for us?  ie in the scenario that we do not pick up a QB with our #1 pick but perhaps grab a QB with our early round 2 pick and develop them under Darnold?

I don't think you can expect Darnold to perform as well if he becomes a Giant.

Consider the three pillars:


Coach:

Vikings Staff >>> Giants Staff

Pass Blocking (PFF)

Vikings 5th  NYG  23rd

Receving (PFF)

Vikings 5th NYG 29th

[MightyGiants]

is that a serious question?

Never mind, it was a hypothetical question that counted on subtext

[Woody]

Also, the Giants will get a credit for his salary from the Vikings this year.

What does that mean?


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[PSUBeirut]

I don't think you can expect Darnold to perform as well if he becomes a Giant.

Consider the three pillars:


Coach:

Vikings Staff >>> Giants Staff

Pass Blocking (PFF)

Vikings 5th  NYG  23rd

Receving (PFF)

Vikings 5th NYG 29th

Oh I definitely don't think he'd perform as well with us and probably not by a longshot.  But he could potentially be a really strong bridge player as we work through the rebuild- whether that means drafting a guy like Sanders or Ward early and letting them sit and learn for a bit or if we draft a next-tier QB in rounds 2-3 and let Darnold take the reins for the year....OR if we don't draft a QB at all and wait until the following year when the prospects at first glance appear to be a better crop.

Not saying it will happen, but it's interesting to play it out.  Here's what I don't know- what would a contract for a guy like Darnold look like if you were trying to bring him in as a bridge (and...probably even more important- does Darnold even WANT that kind of situation now that his career has had a resurgence and he has a chance to be the actual man somewhere). 

[kingm56]

Look for Daniel Jones to be the starter in Minnesota next year. A QB is only as good as his supporting cast and he finally has a decent offensive line and an outstanding WR. I think he'll have little trouble beating out McCarthy who many felt was a marginal prospect at best. Jones has proven you can win with him as we saw in 2022.


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So they drafted JJ in the first round to sit behind their current practice squat QB?  Ok...

[DaveBrown74]

I think this was an outstanding decision by Jones, assuming he had other options, which I am fairly certain he did. If he chose Minnesota over more money and a possible immediate starting role over someone like Vegas, then I believe he made a very wise choice. Seeing what this supporting cast, this coach, and his staff have done for Darnold's career should be a huge motivating factor here, and I'm sure it was. Darnold will surely be gone next year as the Vikes are going to be moving on to JJ, so I expect Jones to be kept there after this year as a base case. At the absolute worst, he'll be a backup on a successful team with a strong coaching staff. At best, he'll have a chance to start.

Another thing nobody has brought up: Minnesota has some of the nicest people in the country. I'm not suggesting that that drove his decision in any way or should have, but he might find that aspect appealing once he gets there. People are just friendlier there than here. In the event that he continues to struggle, he won't take nearly the amount of heat there that he did here from the fans and media.

Darnold was brutal for his entire six years in the NFL prior to arriving in Minnesota. This year through 11 games he has a rating above 100, a YPA above 8, and his team is 9-2. I think it's reasonable to say that if Jones can't get his play on track in this organization, it will probably never happen.

[MightyGiants]

I think this was an outstanding decision by Jones, assuming he had other options, which I am fairly certain he did. If he chose Minnesota over more money and a possible immediate starting role over someone like Vegas, then I believe he made a very wise choice. Seeing what this supporting cast, this coach, and his staff have done for Darnold's career should be a huge motivating factor here, and I'm sure it was. Darnold will surely be gone next year as the Vikes are going to be moving on to JJ, so I expect Jones to be kept there after this year as a base case. At the absolute worst, he'll be a backup on a successful team with a strong coaching staff. At best, he'll have a chance to start.

Another thing nobody has brought up: Minnesota has some of the nicest people in the country. I'm not suggesting that that drove his decision in any way or should have, but he might find that aspect appealing once he gets there. People are just friendlier there than here. In the event that he continues to struggle, he won't take nearly the amount of heat there that he did here from the fans and media.

Darnold was brutal for his entire six years in the NFL prior to arriving in Minnesota. This year through 11 games he has a rating above 100, a YPA above 8, and his team is 9-2. I think it's reasonable to say that if Jones can't get his play on track in this organization, it will probably never happen.

Outstanding post, Jeff

I will add that the Vikings play in a dome, which provides better throwing conditions than the Meadowlands (most of the season).


It's like DJ went from the outhouse to just short of the penthouse.

[T200]

What could the Vikings have possibly seen in week 1 that made them say, "Oh yeah, that is the guy we want!"?

He beat them in the playoffs. Now they can ask him, "How????"

[todge]

So they drafted JJ in the first round to sit behind their current practice squat QB?  Ok...

So they drafted JJ in the first round to sit behind their current practice squat QB?  Ok...

Did you consider that they wouldn't have signed Jones if they were so sold on McCarthy? Not to mention that the latter is recovering from knee surgery and has yet to prove he can run a NFL offense


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[H-Town G-Fan]

Did you consider that they wouldn't have signed Jones if they were so sold on McCarthy? Not to mention that the latter is recovering from knee surgery and has yet to prove he can run a NFL offense


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Jones is signed for half a season. There's absolutely no guarantee they bring him back for 2025.

[DaveBrown74]

Outstanding post, Jeff

I will add that the Vikings play in a dome, which provides better throwing conditions than the Meadowlands (most of the season).


It's like DJ went from the outhouse to just short of the penthouse.

Good point about the dome, Rich. That crossed my mind too when I thought about the cruel winters in Minnesota.

It should also be noted that Jones played one of his best NFL games ever in that playoff game in Minnesota and he was fairly good in the regular season game that year too, even though we lost that game.

Finally, while I have no reason to believe JJ will bust, nobody here can say with 100% certainty that he won't. There's a difference between signing up to the backup of a kid who has never played in the NFL and signing up to be, say, Joe Burrow's backup. Plus, as noted earlier (I think by you Rich), I have no idea what JJ's health situation will be come next autumn. I suspect he'll probably be fine, but in the event that they don't want to rush him, Jones could potentially got an opportunity to start a couple games early next season after having practiced with the team for at least 7 weeks in 2024 and the entire offseason there. If he were to put a couple of starts on tape, that would be meaningful for him.

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/1861797183768387838

[MightyGiants]

Good point about the dome, Rich. That crossed my mind too when I thought about the cruel winters in Minnesota.

It should also be noted that Jones played one of his best NFL games ever in that playoff game in Minnesota and he was fairly good in the regular season game that year too, even though we lost that game.

Finally, while I have no reason to believe JJ will bust, nobody here can say with 100% certainty that he won't. There's a difference between signing up to the backup of a kid who has never played in the NFL and signing up to be, say, Joe Burrow's backup. Plus, as noted earlier (I think by you Rich), I have no idea what JJ's health situation will be come next autumn. I suspect he'll probably be fine, but in the event that they don't want to rush him, Jones could potentially got an opportunity to start a couple games early next season after having practiced with the team for at least 7 weeks in 2024 and the entire offseason there. If he were to put a couple of starts on tape, that would be meaningful for him.

Totally agree.  I would toss in that for the first time since his rookie season with Pat Shurmur; he is playing for a coach who actually wanted him rather than inherited him.   Add in less pressure with the Vikings, and if DJ ever hopes to turn around his career, this move was the one to make.