It seems like Daniel Jones has already found a new home after getting humiliated by the New York Giants. Them sacking him to the bench led to Jones leaving the Giants, thereby ending a six-year association. Now, after becoming a free agent on Monday, Jones has gone on to sign with the Vikings in their practice squads.
As per Tom Pelissero, the Vikings would be paying Jones a little over $100,000 for the remainder of this season. But that number could increase if Jones makes his way to the 53-man roster. With that, the Giants still have to pay Jones $11.7M this season. It was a desperate move the Giants took to save themselves from paying the $23M injury guarantee Jones had in his $160M contract signed in 2022.
Coming off a solid campaign with a 9-7-1 record, Jones earned that contract from the Giants. But it all went downhill from there, as the Giants losing five straight games led to Jones getting sacked to the bench. They decided to promote their third-choice QB, Tommy DeVito, ahead of their Bucs clash last weekend.
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Contract update: The #Vikings will pay Daniel Jones a little over $100,000 for the rest of the season if he stays on the practice squad. (He’d get a higher rate if/when he’s moved to the 53-man roster.) That leaves the #Giants on the hook for the other roughly $11.7 million.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 27, 2024
Well, that change didn’t really pay off, as the Giants found themselves humiliated by the Bucs 7-30 at home. And DeVito, who was pushed into the starting role, didn’t score a single TD while getting sacked for 4 times. His first outing with the Giants this season ended after completing 21-of-31 passes for 189 yards. As for Jones, from a financial point of view, he remains secure. The $160M contract he signed had $81M guaranteed, so by now, the Giants would have paid him over $108M before this year ends.
While the Vikings may have found a player who could be useful for the remainder of this campaign, including the playoffs.
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Daniel Jones’ probable future with the Vikings
Before the start of this season, the Vikings knew who their starting QB was until a season-ending injury changed their plans. Rookie QB J.J. McCarthy’s meniscus injury on his right knee ended his season before it even started. Although he was slowly coming back on his feet through rehabilitation, McCarthy had to undergo a second surgery to address a swelling. So McCarthy is not returning anytime soon before the 2025 window. But in his place, Sam Darnold has been a revelation. He has since led the Vikings to a 9-2 record while scoring 21TDs to date.
This means Jones could work as a highly touted backup as the Vikings look set to enter the playoffs. Even their head coach, Kevin O’Connell, remains a big fan of Jones, as revealed on Monday, “I will say, tons of respect for Daniel Jones as a player and a person. I can just say that I’ve been a big fan of Daniel’s for a long time, and I hope wherever his next step takes him, it’s a good opportunity for him.” Now that Jones has landed in Minnesota, it would be up to Kevin whether he wants an active role for the QB. Or Jones will just remain where he is until another franchise poaches him away next season.
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