Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell gives ‘hopeful’ Stephon Gilmore injury update

Kevin O’Connell Fans Flames on Daniel Jones to Minnesota Vikings Rumors

The Minnesota Vikings are 9-2 on the 2024 NFL season, defying all preseason odds and predictions. Brian Flores has elevated the defense into one of the best in the league and head coach Kevin O’Connell’s ‘Sam Darnold Project’ is going better than anyone could have imagined.

But that doesn’t mean Vikings decision makers aren’t already looking to the future. KOC still plans to hand the 2025 QB reins over to No. 10 overall draft pick, JJ McCarthy, as long as his repaired meniscus can handle it.

As an insurance policy, however, Minnesota has reportedly been eyeing Daniel Jones, after he was released by the New York Giants last week. Not only would he provide a policy in 2025, in case McCarthy’s recovery doesn’t go completely as planned, but Jones would also serve as an immediate upgrade to the Vikings’ 2024 QB room.

Kevin O’Connell responds to Daniel Jones rumors

On Monday, Kevin O’Connell was asked about the recent Daniel Jones rumors, and whether the Minnesota Vikings may have interest in another 27-year-old failed New York QB project.

KOC wouldn’t exactly admit that his general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is sniffing around Jones… but he certainly didn’t dismiss the rumors either. When asked bluntly by ESPN reporter Kevin Seifert, if the Vikings have any interest in Jones, KOC smiled and said, “I’m really not going to get into that at this time”.

Kevin O’Connell’s full back and forth with Kevin Seifert on the Vikings potential interest in Daniel Jones… 👀

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) November 26, 2024

Seifert: “Is there any inclination to look far ahead, at that position, or at least in the short term for depth at that, in this, at this point in the season?”

O’Connell: “Yeah, I’m not going to really get into that today. But I will say tons of respect for Daniel Jones, as a player and a person. Got to know him, through the draft process years ago. And, you know, I’m sure now that he’s, you know, a free agent and there’s probably a ton of league-wide interest in him.

You know, Daniel’s going to make the decision that’s that’s best for him and his career moving forward. And, I’m sure he’s working through that process right now, but I really can’t get into too much about, you know, any short term or long term, I can just say, you know, been a fan of Daniel’s for a long time and hope, you know, wherever his next stop takes him, it’s a it’s a good opportunity for him.”

Seifert: “Can you confirm whether, I mean, is there interest or not or…”

O’Connell [smirking]: “I’m really not going to get into that at this time.”

What would Jones bring to the Minnesota Vikings?

Daniel Jones started 10 games this season for the New York Giants, compiling 2,070 yards on 216-of-341 (63.3%) passing, for 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Jones would not be competition for Sam Darnold, in 2024, but he would be one hell of an insurance plan, both now and in the future.

In his 6-year NFL career, Jones has thrown for 14,582 yards, 70 touchdowns and 47 interceptions (64.1 cmp%). His best season was 2022, when he threw for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. His second best season was as a rookie, when Jones went for 3,027 yards. 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Justin Jefferson explains how he would cover Justin Jefferson

As the Vikings prepare to face the Bears in Chicago, Jefferson talks about defenses while T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones expect to play more snaps.

Despite the steady diet of two-high safety looks and double coverages, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson ranks second in the NFL in yards receiving with 912. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Justin Jefferson had just finished his weekly lamentation about how opposing defenses always, without fail, change the way they normally play to put their primary focus on him.

A reporter spoke up. He asked Justin how Justin would cover Justin.

“I would do the same,” the Vikings receiver said with a smile. “It’s either let everybody else go off or let Justin go off. I’m going to let Justin go off.”

Despite the steady diet of two-high safety looks, double coverages and safeties over the top, Jefferson still ranks second in the league in yards receiving (912), tied for ninth in touchdowns (five) and 10th in catches (59).

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He needs 88 yards for his fifth 1,000-yard season in five years in the league. He led the league in receiving yards in 2022 (1,809), when he was unanimous Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He’s trailing only former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase in yards (1,056) and admits that the stats are important to him.

“I feel like every receiver who is performing at a high pace wants to lead the league in receiving yards, touchdowns and catches,” said Jefferson, whose career average of 97.3 yards per game in an all-time NFL record. “It’s not something that we’re trying to go out and strive for every single week, but just being a top receiver in this league, of course I normally get targeted throughout the game.

“It’s about making the most of my opportunities. Getting yards after the catch. Everyone wants to be the No. 1 receiver in this league.”

Oliver out, Darnold full-go

Quarterback Sam Darnold, who was limited Wednesday because of a foot injury, was full-go in Thursday’s practice. Meanwhile, tight end Josh Oliver (wrist/ankle) did not practice for the second straight day.

Defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard (toe) was a full participant Thursday after being limited on Wednesday.

With Oliver unlikely to play, T.J. Hockenson said he’s preparing to play more snaps and handle more blocking assignments against the Bears than he has so far in the three games he’s played since returning from a torn ACL. Hockenson has played only 47% of the snaps in his three games.

Meanwhile, Bears running back D’Andre Swift (groin) was limited Thursday after not practicing Wednesday. Offensive lineman Tevon Jenkins (ankle) was a full participant after being limited Wednesday.

Not practicing for the Bears because of injury for the second straight day were offensive linemen Kiran Amegadjie (calf) and Ryan Bates (concussion) and defensive back Elijah Hicks (ankle).

Jones: ‘I feel better than last week’

Snap counts and body language the last two weeks suggest Aaron Jones’ health has seen better days. But the soon-to-be-30-year-old running back said things are looking up.

“I definitely feel a lot better than last week,” Jones said. “So I’m confident going into this week.”

A shot to the ribs caused Jones to play only 52% of the snaps in the Jaguars game two weeks ago. It was his second-lowest percentage behind only the 16% he played when injuring his hamstring against the Jets in London.

Last week, Jones played 53% of the snaps in the win over Tennessee. He took some time off in that game after a particularly brutal tackle to open the third quarter. The Titans’ 6-4, 366-pound rookie tackle drove the 5-9, 208-pound Jones into the ground and landed on him.

“I felt it happening; I felt him grabbing me and I just tried to accelerate my feet as fast as I could because I knew what was about to happen,” Jones said. “I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no!’ And as it was happening, I was like, ‘Ahhhhh!’ Just my air gone. I went out for a little bit and came back.”

Jones had a season-low 43 yards on 16 touches, including 39 yards on 15 carries for a season-low 2.6 yards per carry.

Jones is listed on the injury report with a rib injury. He had full participation on Wednesday and Thursday.

A Wisconsin kayaker faked his own death and fled overseas. Now he’s telling how he did it

A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning this summer so he could abandon his wife and three children has been communicating with authorities daily from Eastern Europe, even telling them how he did it, but has not committed to returning home, a sheriff said Thursday.

This still image provided by Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Mark Podoll holds a news conference regarding Ryan Borgwardt, who faked his own drowning this summer on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 in Green Lake, Wis. (Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office via AP) (The Associated Press)

GREEN LAKE, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning this summer so he could abandon his wife and three children has been communicating with authorities daily from Eastern Europe, even telling them how he did it, but has not committed to returning home, a sheriff said Thursday.

Ryan Borgwardt has been talking with authorities since Nov. 11 after disappearing for three months, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said at a news conference. The sheriff later showed a video that Borgwardt had sent the sheriff’s office that day.

”The great news is we know that he is alive and well,” Podoll said. ”The bad news is we don’t know where Ryan exactly is, and he has not yet decided to return home.”

Borgwardt, wearing an orange T-shirt and not smiling, looked directly into the camera in the video, which appears to have been taken on his phone. Borgwardt said he was in his apartment and briefly panned the camera but mostly showed just a door and bare walls.

”I’m safe and secure, no problem,” Borgwardt said. ”I hope this works.”

Borgwardt told authorities he fled because of ”personal matters,” the sheriff said. Podoll did not elaborate.

”He was just going to try and make things better in his mind, and this was the way it was going to be,” Podoll said.

Borgwardt told authorities he traveled about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from his home in Watertown to Green Lake, where he overturned his kayak, dumped his phone in the lake and then paddled an inflatable boat to shore. He told authorities he picked that lake because it’s the deepest in Wisconsin at 237 feet (over 72 meters).

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After leaving the lake, he rode an electric bike about 70 miles (110 kilometers) through the night to Madison, the sheriff said. From there, he took a bus to Detroit, then boarded a bus to Canada and got on a plane there, the sheriff said.

Police were still verifying Borgwardt’s description of what happened, Podoll said.

The sheriff suggested Borgwardt could be charged with obstructing the investigation into his disappearance, but so far no counts have been filed. The sheriff’s office said the search for Borgwardt’s body, which lasted more than a month, cost at least $35,000. Podoll said that Borgwardt told authorities that he didn’t expect the search to last more than two weeks.

Whether Borgwardt returns will be up to his ”free will,” Podoll said. Borgwardt’s biggest concern about returning is how the community will react, the sheriff said.

”He thought his plan was going to pan out, but it didn’t go the way he had planned,” the sheriff said. ”And so now we’re trying to give him a different plan to come back.”

The sheriff said authorities ”keep pulling at his heartstrings” to return home.

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”Christmas is coming,” Podoll said. ”And what better gift could your kids get than to be there for Christmas?”

Borgwardt’s disappearance was first investigated as a possible drowning after he went kayaking on Green Lake, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee, in August. But subsequent clues — including that he obtained a new passport three months before he disappeared — led investigators to speculate that he faked his death to meet up with a woman he had been communicating with in Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.

The sheriff declined to comment when asked what he knew about the woman, but he said police contacted Borgwardt ”through a female that spoke Russian.”

Prior to the sheriff’s office speaking with Borgwardt last week, he had not been heard from since the night of Aug. 11 when he texted his wife in Watertown shortly before 11 p.m., saying he was headed to shore after kayaking.

Deputies located his vehicle and trailer near the lake. They also found his overturned kayak with a life jacket attached to it in an area where the lake’s waters run more than 200 feet (60 meters) deep. The search for his body went on for more than 50 days, with divers on several occasions exploring the lake.

In early October, the sheriff’s department learned that Canadian law enforcement authorities had run Borgwardt’s name through their databases the day after he was reported missing. Further investigation revealed that he had reported his passport lost or stolen and had obtained a new one in May.

The sheriff’s office said the analysis of a laptop revealed a digital trail that showed Borgwardt planned to head to Europe and tried to mislead investigators.

The laptop’s hard drive had been replaced and the browsers had been cleared the day Borgwardt disappeared, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators found passport photos, inquiries about moving money to foreign banks, and communication with a woman from Uzbekistan.

They also discovered that he took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January, although the policy was for his family and not him, the sheriff said.

Authorities tried every phone number and email address on the laptop in ”a blitz fashion,” Podoll said. They eventually reached the Russian-speaking woman, who connected them with Borgwardt. It’s unclear whether she is the woman in Uzbekistan.

Podoll said he wasn’t sure how Borgwardt was supporting himself but speculated he has a job: ”He’s a smart guy.”

Analysis: Caleb Williams’ Bears might not be who we think they are heading into Vikings game

The Bears have lost four in a row with a rookie quarterback and a shuffled offensive staff. But looks can be deceiving.

Interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, left, and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, right, looked pretty good in Chicago’s loss to Green Bay last Sunday. (Kamil Krzaczynski/The Associated Press)

Vikings fans probably already know not to assume victory. Ever. But if you’ve penciled Sunday’s game at Chicago into your two-score breather win column because the Bears have lost four straight, employ an unpolished rookie quarterback who’s been sacked a league-high 41 times and have canned a coordinator before Thanksgiving, well …

Beware Da Bears.

Why?

A. About this time last year, the Vikings were still a playoff contender at 6-5. The Bears were 3-8. Chicago won 12-10 at U.S. Bank Stadium in prime time.

B. Two of the Bears’ four straight losses came on the infamous 52-yard Hail Mary at Washington and a blocked field goal at home against the Packers last week. That’s two walk-off losses at the buzzer against two teams that are a combined 14-7 and currently own the NFC’s last two playoff seeds.

C. Chicago’s defense is ranked seventh in points allowed (18.7) and first in the red-zone success (40.63%).

And, last but not least …

D. The aforementioned unpolished rookie QB — No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams — actually looked pretty darn good in last week’s 20-19 loss to Green Bay. So did interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, the former passing game coordinator who replaced the fired Shane Waldron four days earlier.

“I liked the tempo in which we operated in terms of play-caller to quarterback,” said coach Matt Eberflus, the guy who fired Waldron, whose approach helped Williams to a 4-2 start but also contributed to getting him sacked 15 times in the two weeks before the move was made.

Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. also noticed a different look to Williams against the Packers.

“I would say he was more on the safer side and getting the ball out quick,” Murphy said. “He’s definitely still a mobile guy. More mobile than I thought he was before Sunday. They ran the ball more. A little more boots. Getting the ball out fast and making better decisions.”

Magician? Whisperer? Good coach? O’Connell coaxing more from Darnold than anyone who tried before

RandBall: Are the Vikings going to help get another coach fired Sunday?

Sunday was indeed a different look for the Bears than in recent weeks. In a close game against a quality opponent, they were more balanced with 34 runs and 34 pass plays, including three sacks.

Williams got his top three receivers — D.J. Moore, rookie first-round pick Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen — involved early and often, targeting each of them at least seven times while completing 23 of 31 passes. Williams also posted a career-high 70 yards rushing on nine carries (7.8-yard average) as the Bears ran for 179 yards and two scores.

“One thing I think that helped them was a lot more screens to D.J. Moore,” Murphy said. “That’s smart because D.J. is one of the best receivers in the league with the ball in his hands.”

That was Eberflus’ feeling as well. He emphasized it to Brown, who built a game plan that fed Moore a game-high seven catches for 62 yards.

The Bears also converted 56.3% of their third downs (9 of 16). Not bad for a team ranked 31st (31.88%). They also converted all three fourth-down attempts.

Meanwhile, the Bears didn’t turn the ball over for a third straight game, something they haven’t done since 1979. Williams went a fourth straight game without an interception, the longest by a Bears quarterback since Brian Hoyer in 2016, and the longest by a Bears rookie quarterback since at least 1950.

Williams also was an improbable clutch performer at the end. Trailing by 1 with time running out, he escaped pressure and hit Odunze for a 16-yard gain on third-and-19. Then, on fourth-and-3, he hit Odonze’s back shoulder perfectly for a 21-yard gain. Then he threw a blitz-beater to Allen for 12 yards to set up a 46-yard field goal attempt with three seconds left.

The Packers blocked the kick. The Bears lost. And what should have been Williams’ first game-winning drive in the NFL became another loss and perhaps an easier path to some Vikings fans taking Da Bears a tad or two more for granted than maybe they should.

Exclusive: Vikings Deemed Top Potential Landing Spot for $75 Million QB

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Aaron Rodgers

The Minnesota Vikings have only one quarterback under contract next season — and with J.J. McCarthy yet to play a single regular-season snap — there may be a need for a veteran placeholder.

No quarterback who is expected to be available has a better resume than Aaron Rodgers.

CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin, a former NFL agent, named the top landing spots for Rodgers, with the Vikings among his top three teams.

“Besides the storybook parallels to Brett Favre, who also went from Packers legend to Jets and Vikings rental to close his career, this one registers as sneakily plausible. The Vikings would surely prefer to re-sign current starter Sam Darnold, who’s fared reasonably well under Kevin O’Connell, but what if Darnold opts for a better-paying gig in 2025 free agency, confidence restored, ready to depart the lurking shadow of first-round pick J.J. McCarthy,” Benjamin wrote. “Minnesota might still want a placeholder as McCarthy returns from knee surgery, and Rodgers would be getting a ready-made lineup with the best offensive line, skill weapons and defense he’s had in years. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was in the San Francisco 49ers‘ front office when the Niners reportedly tried to land Rodgers in 2021, and he’d also be betting on the vengeance factor, allowing Rodgers to play the Packers at least twice.”

Rodgers is in the penultimate year of a two-year, $75 million revised contract with the New York Jets. He has a $2.5 million base salary and the Jets would be on the hook for a majority of his contract if they find a trade partner.

Retirement the Most Likely Option for Rodgers, Analyst Says

GettyNew York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers reacting in the middle of an NFL game.

While Benjamin made sound cases for several landing spots for Rodgers, the onus is on him to decide if he wants to continue to play.

Rodgers, who turns 41 in December, is one of the most polarizing players in the league. His darkness retreats and outspoken personality are well-documented as a man who has shown that he does things his way.

“Let’s face it: If Rodgers doesn’t return for a third season with the Jets, he probably won’t return at all. In some ways, it took great pains for the one-time star to even leave the Green Bay Packers in 2023. Plus, New York is specifically where he wanted to be. The Jets’ subsequent catering to his every desire, pouring resources into ex-Packers allies like Nathaniel Hackett and Allen Lazard, confirmed as much,” Benjamin wrote.

“It’s one thing to start all over again. It’s another to do it at age 41, coming off back-to-back injury-riddled seasons, and likely for a team that either won’t want to shoulder his level of power or isn’t properly equipped to make a title run. Rodgers may desire a celebratory sendoff, but like Tom Brady after his sluggish finale, he may realize that time is simply past, calling it a career rather than subjecting himself to additional turmoil.”

Other Vikings QB Options in 2025

GettyJ.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings.

Regardless of the speculation on Rodgers’ future, the Vikings will be in the market for additional quarterbacks in the upcoming offseason.

Darnold is unlikely to return, regarded as the No. 1 free-agent quarterback. Nick Mullens and Brett Rypien‘s contracts are also due to expire.

A veteran quarterback presence would be ideal to help develop McCarthy.

Point Differential and Playoff Teams- What Difference Does It Make?

Does piling on in garbage time really help playoff success?

As the Minnesota Vikings completed their sweep of the AFC South with a 23-13 win over the Titans, the Detroit Lions curb-stomped the Jaguars 52-6 – a team the Vikings struggled to prevail against the previous week 12-7. And the Lions put up 52 points against the Titans as well in another curb-stomping. The Vikings did manage to blowout the Texans 34-7, the only team in the AFC South with a winning record, while the Lions were lucky to get out of Houston with a 26-23 win.

Overall, the Lions hold a commanding lead in point differential across the league at +159, with the Bills the only other team above one hundred at +106. 122 of the Lions’ 159-point differential came in blowouts against the Cowboys, Titans, and Jaguars- three teams likely to be picking in the top ten in next year’s draft. Still, blowing out the bottom feeders- rather than beating them in closer games like the Vikings have- is a sign of strength and a bona fide Super Bowl favorite- right? After all, the Lions are now the favorite to win the Super Bowl this year after that blowout of the Jags (and the Chiefs losing to the Bills). Certainly as Vikings’ fans we’d feel better about our team’s chances by curb-stomping the cellar-dwellers of the AFC South like the Lions have, rather than these lame single-digit average point margin victories.

Point Differential and Playoff Success

But at the end of the day, what difference does point differential make when it comes to what really matters- success in the playoffs?

The short answer is not much. The top team in point differential doesn’t usually win the Super Bowl. Over the last ten Super Bowls, only three times has the team with the best point differential won, the last coming in 2017, when the Eagles won although they were actually tied with the Patriots for best point differential. The Patriots had the best point differential in 2014 and 2016 when they won the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl participants usually have a +100 or better point differential, the exceptions being the Chiefs last season, the 2021 Rams and Bengals, and the 2015 Broncos over the past ten seasons. Also, teams with a lower point differential under 50 tend not to make it that far in the post season and usually only beat teams with a low point differential. In that sense, a relatively low point differential is a much stronger negative indicator of playoff performance than high point differential is a strong indicator of playoff success.

High Point Differential Warning Sign

Playoff teams with high positive point differential in recent years that did not fare well in the playoffs shared something that should worry Lions fans: they blew-out bad teams but had more mixed success against better teams and the results were close. The 2023 Cowboys, the 2022 Bills, the 2021 Cowboys, the 2021 Bills, the 2020 Ravens, and the 2019 Patriots all led their conference in point differential, most of which came in blowouts of bad teams, but made early exits from the playoffs.

Better, but Imperfect, Predictors of Playoff Success

So, while point differential is a flawed indicator of playoff success, in large part because blowouts of bad teams can overstate a team’s strength against other playoff teams, there are some other indicators that have a good track record of forecasting playoff success.

Playoff Seeding

The best one is playoff seeding. #1 seeds win the Super Bowl just over half the time since playoff seeding began for the 1976 season, including five of the last ten. However, the top seed in either conference has only won one of the last six Super Bowls, so maybe that’s not as good a predictor as it once was. Clearly having a first-round bye and home field throughout the conference championship is a significant advantage, but obviously not a decisive one in every instance.

Second seeds have had the second-most success in winning Super Bowls, but that has likely changed now that second seeds no longer get a first-round bye. Fourth seeds have the third best track record at winning Super Bowls, while the others have only won it 2-3 times each except seventh seeds which have never won.

Another downside of playoff seeding is that you don’t know it until a week or two before the postseason and it can be difficult to gauge during the ‘any given Sunday’ NFL season.

EPA-Based Team Tiers – with a Garbage Time Filter

I went through some recent history going back to 2018 to see how EPA-based team metrics for overall offense and defense work in forecasting teams that make it to the conference championships. I found that after experimenting with four different garbage time filters (10%, 16%, 20%, 30%), using the 10% garbage time filter, which excludes plays when the expected win percentage is over 90% or less than 10%, produced the best results over time- albeit still imperfect ones. But using a garbage time filter almost always improved the results.

2023 Season

A 30% garbage time filter did a better job of predicting last year’s conference championship teams than the 10% filter shown underneath, as it improved the tiers for both the Lions and Chiefs.

2022 Season

The 10-90% garbage time filter did the best job of any (or no) filter in predicting the teams that made it to the conference championship in 2022.

2021 Season

No filter did a good job predicting the 2021 conference championship teams. The biggest issue was the Bengals, although none did a good job of filtering out the Packers, Cards, Cowboys, and Bills either.

2020 Season

The 90-10% filter did a good job in 2020 of predicting the conference championship teams, although no garbage time filter did well too.

2019 Season

The Titans were not predicted by any metric to make the AFC conference championship in 2019, including using any garbage time filter, seeding, etc. Overall, outside of the Ravens being upset by the Titans, the 90-10% filter did a pretty good job, however and showed the Vikings’ upset of the Saints wasn’t that big of an upset despite the Saints as 7.5 favorites.

2018 Season

Decent results for predicting the 2018 conference championship teams as well. Bears losing to the Eagles was an upset (the double-doink game), but otherwise not too bad.

Injuries Always a Complicating Factor

Whatever metric is used to predict playoff success, injuries always present a complicating factor. Teams with key injured players during the season that get healthy may perform better in the playoffs than expected based on any number of metrics. Conversely, healthier teams that suffer key injuries late in the season or during the playoffs may fare worse than any kind of performance metric would suggest.

What Does It All Mean for This Season?

Well, the regular season isn’t over yet and anything can and will happen between now and the post-season that could change the outlook for any number of potential playoff teams. Using the 90-10% garbage time filter as above, however, suggests that the Vikings are on the right track at the moment:

In fact, the Vikings look better than many think at the moment, particularly in the national media. Obviously the Lions are the clear favorite to win the Super Bowl right now, or at least represent the NFC, and deservedly so as they beat the Vikings narrowly and have the best record, but how things play out remains to be seen.

GettyGiants quarterback Daniel Jones and Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold

After being benched this week, Daniel Jones made it clear that his time with the New York Giants is over — a message that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold should heed.

That message is two-pronged: that Darnold could be Giants free-agency target for better, or for worse; and that Jones will be looking for a new team in 2025.

That could impact Darnold’s prospects of re-signing with the Vikings. Minnesota could land another former blue-chip quarterback prospect for cheap with Jones unlikely to garner any interest as a starting quarterback next season.

It’s the same situation Darnold was in since he was cast away from the New York Jets. He signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 and a one-year, $10 million deal as a reclamation starter for the Vikings in 2024.

There’s a scenario where the Vikings re-sign Darnold to a team-friendly deal and he would compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job in 2025.

However, that deal would have to be incredibly cheap considering the pool of potential free-agent backup quarterback options just got an influx of talent with Jones (a quarterback who has a 10-win season and playoff win under his belt) expected to be released.

Vikings’ Support of Sam Darnold Should Make Minnesota QB Haven

GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.

As a former No. 3 overall pick ousted out of New York himself, Darnold has shown what a former blue-chip quarterback prospect can do when put in the correct situation.

The same opportunity could be afforded to Jones, who was selected No. 6 overall in the 2019 draft.

While Jones’ name has become a punchline in watercooler conversations, the 27-year-old quarterback was coveted coming out of college for a reason. He was considered a deft decision-maker with good footwork but lacking the same arm talent as Darnold.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell managed to squeeze out wins with Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens a year ago. This season, he’s showing what he can do with a first-round quarterback prospect.

To be clear: McCarthy is O’Connell’s top priority and plan for his team’s future at quarterback. But bringing Jones into the room to learn for a season could provide the Vikings with a viable backup option.

Any quarterback looking for an opportunity to learn should flock to Minnesota.

Vikings’ 2025 Free-Agent Options

Getty Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields dropped a message for followers ahead of NFL Week 8.

The Vikings must find help at quarterback for the 2025 season with McCarthy the only quarterback under contract beyond this season.

Minnesota didn’t push all their chips in on McCarthy in 2024, signing Darnold as a stopgap in McCarthy’s first year.

And until McCarthy shows he’s ready to be the Vikings’ franchise quarterback, the team should explore other options that could take over and lead a talented roster.

The 2025 free-agent pool has several promising candidates.

Justin Fields is coming off a 4-2 run with the Pittsburgh Steelers before Russell Wilson returned from injury. Of course, the Aaron Rodgers-t0-Minnesota pipedream will never quite die.

But other less flashy but equally serviceable options include Jacoby Brissett, Jameis Winston, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, Marcus Mariota, Taylor Heinecke and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Mike Florio is Bored with the 2024 Minnesota Vikings

“We’re loaded at the tight end position, and Coach (Brian) Angelico does a great job with those guys,”

Nov 1, 2009; Green Bay, WI, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (4) greets Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) following the game at Lambeau Field. The Vikings defeated the Packers 38-26. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports