While one former New York quarterback is thriving in Minnesota, another is now on the sideline in a position he never thought he would reach after being drafted sixth overall in 2019.

Daniel Jones’ time with the New York Giants ended unceremoniously when he was fired after a 2-8 start this season and he found a new home in the NFL for the first time in six years.

After weighing his options, Jones chose the quarterback role on the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad, calling it a “great opportunity” to work with head coach Kevin O’Connell and starter Sam Darnold, the former New York Jet whose career was revitalized this season .

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Could this be what Jones is looking for with the Vikings after watching Darnold regain his confidence and lead a team to an 11-2 record?

Vikings legend Kyle Rudolph, a former teammate of Jones during their year together with the Giants, said that could be the plan after spending time with Jones two weekends ago before, during and after the team’s win over the Arizona Cardinals had.

“He’s excited to be in this environment in Minnesota,” Rudolph told Fox News Digital, while expressing surprise at two military veterans from Minnesota after teaming up with Polaris and Call of Duty in Week 13. “Being around Kevin O’Connell, Josh McCown, the quarterbacks coach, is supposed to be able to kind of take a back seat and learn and really try to re-establish himself as a top-10 pick . A good quarterback in this league and a guy who, by the way, won a playoff game in this building and went to the divisional round.

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Jones broke out in the 2022 season mentioned by Rudolph, which included a Wild Card Round victory on the road at US Bank Stadium against the Kirk Cousins-led Vikings. This ultimately led to the Giants’ decision to extend Jones to a long-term extension, believing he had proven himself worthy of a new contract to remain the team’s franchise quarterback.

However, that didn’t work out as the Giants released him this season before they had a chance to get out of his contract. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley, who was named to the franchise team after Jones got his big deal, is having an MVP season with the Philadelphia Eagles in his first year after entering free agency.

But as the Giants languish in the midst of a terrible season for their next quarterback, Jones may have found new life in Minnesota.

“What’s stopping DJ from being Baker Mayfield (or) Sam Darnold next year?” Rudolph said.

“That’s a big reason why he decided to go to Minnesota, because he knew there might be an opportunity there for me in the future.”

For Darnold, he signed a strong one-year contract with the Vikings last offseason, knowing full well that it would be a quarterback competition with rookie JJ McCarthy, the team’s first-rounder from Michigan. But when McCarthy was sidelined with a knee injury, Darnold knew he had to play for the Vikings all season, not just in Week 1 when he won the starting job after training camp.

He did just that with a record of 11-2 in 13 games while also putting up his career numbers. Remember, this is a quarterback who flopped with the New York Jets as the third overall pick, couldn’t stick with the Carolina Panthers and had the same role Jones now holds with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.

Meanwhile, Mayfield was also in Carolina with Darnold after his tenure as the Cleveland Browns’ first overall pick and prospect was eliminated. Mayfield bounced around the NFL until the Bucs gave him a similar deal in 2023 that Darnold has now. Not only did Mayfield prove he could win in Tampa Bay – defeating the Eagles in the Wild Card Round on his home turf, cementing his role as the team’s franchise quarterback – but he also received a three-year, $100 extension in the process million US dollars.

Rudolph said Darnold deserves this big extension with more games left, and Jones could do the same with the Vikings, a team that Rudolph doesn’t think will want to spend a lot of money on Darnold, knowing that McCarthy is waiting in the wings.

“In today’s world, these young quarterbacks don’t have to play in their first two years,” Rudolph said. “JJ is going through what he is going through with his knee injury and ultimately they will compete if DJ decides to stay there next year. He has a great opportunity to go out and it only lasts a year.”

For now, though, Rudolph knows Jones can’t wait to get back on the field, but he’s playing his role well in his first weeks with Minnesota.

“I think the biggest challenge for DJ is that he was always the man. He was the sixth overall pick and quarterback of the New York Giants,” Rudolph said. “Last Sunday, as quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, he watched the game from the sidelines. That’s not easy. I know when I was talking to him as a competitor, he said, ‘Man, I basically just felt useless standing there.’ watch a game.’ It’s part of the process.”

Giving something back to veterans

Rudolph was able to watch Darnold & Co. pick up their win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13 in the Twin Cities, where he also used two Minnesota veterans with Polaris RZR Pro R- during the Salute to Service game on December 1st. vehicles surprised.

Leveraging his fundraising platform Alltroo, Rudolph teamed up with Polaris and Call of Duty for this special surprise.

“Two Marine Corps gentlemen from Minnesota almost felt like they didn’t deserve this incredible honor because they said, ‘There are so many others who have done what I did and deserve it more than I do. ‘ “They couldn’t believe they were the two chosen to receive these Polaris RZRs,” Rudolph said.

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The veterans also played the brand new video game “Call of Duty Black Ops 6” with Vikings defensemen Pat Jones II and Ivan Pace Jr.

And through March 1, 2025, Rudolph said, soccer fans can join Alltroo for a chance to win a Polaris RZR Pro R through donations that benefit the Call of Duty Endowment, a program that helps veterans pursue quality careers find and veterans well supported. Be.

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