Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones went through quite a change last season, seeing that he split with the Giants after roughly six years together and signed with the Minnesota Vikings. However, Jones’ time with the Vikings hasn’t been very fruitful, seeing that he didn’t see even a minute of playing time last season.
The top question now is whether Jones will sign again with the Vikings or end up elsewhere.
NFL Expert Has Intriguing Prediction for Daniel Jones
Jones was with the Vikings’ practice squad until he was brought up to their active roster for the team’s playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, on January 13, which the Vikings lost.
That move to the active roster is key to why NFL analyst and expert Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks Jones could stay in Minnesota. He says that switch to bring Jones to the active roster “carried with it an important consequence.”
“In that moment, Jones forfeited what would have been a two-month head start on free agency,” Florio said in a Wednesday, February 26, feature. “He could have taken his time, visited teams, and ultimately signed a contract before the feeding frenzy begins in two weeks.”
He adds that with the move, the Vikings snagged “an incidental benefit, too. If Jones signs with a new team, his departure will be included in the 2026 compensatory draft-pick formula.”
So, if the Vikings wanted to keep Jones on the squad for the 2025-26 season, they made the right move by signing him to the active roster during the playoffs.
Also, while having Jones on the roster as a backup to J.J. McCarthy is one option, Florio states that there’s the possibility of Jones actually stepping into Sam Darnold‘s former role and being the starter.
“The situation also points to the looming possibility of Jones becoming this year’s Darnold in Minnesota,” Florio said. “Although the Vikings have yet to re-sign Jones, they believe in him. Unless someone else makes Jones a sizable offer to become the starter, the Vikings could end up keeping him.”
More Signs for Jones Staying Put
Then there’s the whole issue of whether the Vikings will keep quarterback Sam Darnold in the fold. The general consensus is that he’ll walk in free agency and sign a new, lucrative deal with a different franchise. Ben Rolfe of Pro Football Network even thinks Darnold will be the highest-paid quarterback in the 2025 free agent class, making around $35-40 million each year. Darnold is also the No. 10-ranked player in PFSN’s Top 100 Free Agent Rankings.
Adding to the buzz of Darnold possibly leaving, and Jones staying, is a feature from Seth Walder of ESPN published on Wednesday, February 26, stating that he believes Darnold could go to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Keeping [Justin] Fields is a possibility, but if the Steelers really liked him, why did they continue to play Russell Wilson over him?” Walder stated in the piece. “And though I have some healthy skepticism of how Darnold will fare without Kevin O’Connell and Justin Jefferson, he’s arguably the best free agent quarterback available.”
He added that Pittsburgh could snag him, “because they have the most to offer — a potentially very good defense, winning history under Mike Tomlin and the lack of a top pick (making them less likely to take a first-round rookie).”
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