Vikings Free Agent Earns Buyer Beware Label

The Minnesota Vikings employ a plethora of pending free agents. Numerous players enter the offseason with uncertainty about whether they will return to the Twin Cities or depart in March, starting a new journey somewhere else.
Vikings Free Agent Earns Buyer Beware Label
Those players include starting defenders Byron Murphy and Cam Bynum. No real successors are on the roster, so keeping or replacing them is high on the priorities list.

On the other side of the ball, the Vikings employ three quarterbacks who are set to become free agents: Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens, and Daniel Jones, leaving rookie J.J. McCarthy as the only passer under contract beyond the final game of this season.
Darnold might command a significant contract and if the Vikings want to give the reins to McCarthy sooner rather than later, relying on the experienced Jones as an insurance for the 21-year-old could make sense.
Bleacher Report‘s Kristopher Knox, however, sent a warning to the NFL from signing the former Giants signal-caller, “Seasoned backup quarterbacks always have value, and because of this, Daniel Jones does deserve to be on a team in 2025. With 69 starts on his resume, Jones is experienced, and he was quickly scooped up by the Minnesota Vikings following his release from the New York Giants. However, teams considering taking a chance on a former draft bust in hopes of reigniting a career—a la Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold—should look elsewhere.”

Indeed, there’s a trend of giving former high draft picks a second chance. A QB’s failure seems to go hand-in-hand with the organization’s chaos. Darnold and Geno Smith escaped the New York Jets and Darnold and Baker Mayfield didn’t work out with the Panthers but all three had productive stints with their new teams.
But Knox is convinced Jones doesn’t belong on that list and that his struggles with the Giants revealed his true skillset.
Jones had six seasons to prove himself a capable starter with the Giants. He had one “good” year that culminated in a playoff berth in 2022. Otherwise, the 27-year-old (28 in May) has largely performed like a career backup.
To be fair, Jones rarely had a strong supporting cast in New York. The fact that he was frequently outperformed by backups like Tyrod Taylor, Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock, however, is concerning. Jones finished his Giants tenure with a 24-44-1 record and an 84.3 passer rating.
Jones has backup value but isn’t a potential reclamation project worth a gamble.
In his 69 career starts, Jones has tossed the ball for over 14,500 yards, 70 touchdowns and 47 interceptions, while adding another 2,179 yards and 15 scores on the ground.

He has ideal size and remarkable athleticism. However, his QB play has been up and down. In the last couple of years, it has exclusively been down.
For the Vikings, the good news is that Jones doesn’t seem to have a huge market and Minnesota might be his best chance. Signing him for cheap to be backup (or bridge in case he isn’t ready) for McCarthy is realistic. Kevin O’Connell has already worked with him for a couple of months and in case his services were needed on the field, he surely could get the best out of the former Duke QB.
Jones has earned the doubts over the years, but similarly to Darnold, he deserves a chance with a different franchise. It remains to be seen whether the Vikings will be that club.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.

Two Essential Vikings Free Agents Poised for a Return
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt