Daniel Jones may be climbing up the totem pole in Minnesota at record speed.
Speaking with reporters Thursday ahead of Monday’s playoff opener against the Los Angeles Rams, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell indicated that Jones could become the team’s backup quarterback behind Sam Darnold. Kevin Seifert of ESPN noted that O’Connell twice declined to name a QB2 between Jones and Nick Mullens for the Rams game.
“[Jones] definitely has progressed,” O’Connell was quoted as saying. “He’s gotten a lot of really good work in both running scout team works and then just extra work here and there when he can.
“The best way I can put it is we’re doing everything we can to get Sam ready to go,” O’Connell added. “But at the same time, whether it’s Nick or Daniel or Brett [Rypien], having all those guys absorbing the game plan like always. It’s such a fluid thing here the rest of the way. We’re going to do whatever we think gives us the best chance to win.”
The 27-year-old Jones, a former No. 6 overall pick, was waived by the New York Giants in November and signed with the Vikings’ practice squad days later. He did not make it onto the active roster in the regular season (with Mullens serving as the undisputed backup to Darnold and even playing in four games). But Jones was just signed to Minnesota’s 53-man roster from the practice squad earlier this week and now improbably appears to be in play for the QB2 job in the postseason.
Jones did already gain some postseason experience with the Giants, even winning a playoff game against the Vikings themselves in the 2022 season. Maybe that is why Minnesota thinks that he could make a good backup QB for the Rams game and possibly beyond too.
