Vikings a ‘great opportunity’ for ex-Giants QB Jones

The Vikings return to US Bank Stadium on Sunday to take on the Cardinals after a three-game road stretch. They will have a potential good luck charm in quarterback Daniel Jones, who was officially signed to their practice squad on Friday.

“I may or may not have said to him this morning, our team is really looking forward to returning to US Bank Stadium; I’m sure you are too,” Vikings coach Kevin Connell said.

O’Connell was referring to a wild-card playoff game following the 2022 season in which Jones led a 31-24 victory for the Giants, passing for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

It helped him land a four-year contract worth $160 million. The Giants released him at his request last week after going 3-13 over the past two seasons.

On Friday, Jones practiced with the Vikings and met with reporters afterward.

“I’m happy to be here, excited to be a Minnesota Viking,” he said. “Great opportunity. I just want to help and be part of this team.”

For now, Jones is strictly an insurance policy adding depth to former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, who has led Minnesota to a 9-2 record.

But O’Connell said his goal is to help Jones with his fundamentals and get him up to speed on the Viking system when he’s needed in a game.

The Vikings’ quarterbacks coach is Darnold’s former Jets teammate, Josh McCown.

“We’re going to integrate him into our system little by little, while also making sure he’s invested in the game plans we have,” O’Connell said.

“He played a lot of football. One of the things we definitely don’t want to do is say, hey, you’re in a new place, let’s just forget everything that happened. Because I think there are some really good examples of high-level football that he has played.”

Jones said he wasn’t thinking beyond this season when he decided to join the Vikings after a “crazy last few weeks.” He said he was attracted to the attacking acumen of O’Connell and his staff.

“His system has been successful,” Jones said. “He knows the quarterback game and knows how to build the quarterback environment.”

Theoretically, of course, the same goes for Giants coach Brian Daboll.

Jones was demoted from first to fourth string by the Giants on November 18, in part to avoid the risk of triggering an insurance clause that could have cost them up to $23 million.

“I think it’s time to take the time to learn and study it,” Jones said. ‘I’m catching up. These guys are planning the game and focusing on winning. I don’t want to delay anything with that. It’s up to me to catch up.”