Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings' decision to sign Daniel Jones following his departure from the New York Giants may have been part of a contingency plan for the potential free agency loss of Sam Darnold.

ESPN's Adam Schefter said Monday on the Pat McAfee Show that he believes the Las Vegas Raiders plan to pursue Darnold this offseason.

"I think the Raiders are going to make a play for Sam Darnold. I think Sam Darnold's a candidate to be the Raiders' quarterback," Schefter said. "We'll see whether Minnesota lets him go or not, but let's see if that works out with Sam Darnold winding up in Vegas. And so, if he goes there, then the Vikings have to bring in another quarterback. J.J.'s obviously going to be there; J.J.'s coming along.

"And I think that was part of the reason they brought in Daniel Jones because they were kind of getting him up to speed in their system in their organization in the event that they do lose Sam Darnold."

The Vikings signed Jones to their practice squad in November and elevated him to the active roster in January. The former Giants starter has not seen game action since he was waived by New York.

This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.

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The Indianapolis Colts may have made a major statement Tuesday regarding their feelings on quarterback Anthony Richardson.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Colts agreed to a one-year, $14 million contract with quarterback Daniel Jones in free agency. Pelissero reported the Colts are "preparing for an open quarterback competition" between Richardson and Jones.

The open competition combined with Richardson's struggles thus far during his young NFL career led many on social media to speculate on Richardson's status going forward:

After the Colts made Richardson the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft despite limited production collegiately at Florida, he started 15 games over his first two NFL seasons, going 8-7.

An injury cut Richardson's rookie season short after four games, but he went on to start 11 games last season.

The results were far from ideal, as Richardson completed only 47.7 percent of his passes for 1,814 yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 499 yards and six scores.

Jones was released by the New York Giants midway through his sixth season with the team in 2024. He finished out the 2024 season in Minnesota after joining the Vikings' practice squad on a one-year, $375,000 deal, then hit free agency in March.

Jones' split from New York followed his demotion to QB3 after leading the Giants to a 2-8 start to the 2024 campaign.

Since agreeing to a four-year, $160 million deal with the Giants ahead of the 2023 season, Jones led his team to three wins in 16 games while throwing 13 total interceptions to 10 total touchdowns.

When the Giants decided to turn to Tommy DeVito under center instead, Jones requested his release.

Despite a 14-3 regular-season record, the Vikings didn't record a playoff win this winter, as the Los Angeles Rams ousted them from the NFC Wild Card Round.

With J.J. McCarthy looking to get his first start after missing his rookie season with a knee injury, the Vikings apparently decided they had enough quarterback depth to move on from Jones.

Jones, who was selected by the Giants with the No. 6 pick of the 2019 NFL draft, led the Giants to a winning season and a playoff victory in 2022.

Although he has been unable to reach that level of success since, the Colts will hope he can help provide competition in a quarterback room currently staffed by Richardson.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard previously said he wanted to add "real competition" with Richardson for the QB1 spot.

"I think that's good for the team, and I think it's good for Anthony," Ballard said in February about quarterback competition, per NFL.com's Eric Edholm.

The Colts initially intended for veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to provide that competition last season, but Flacco's struggles after Richardson's midseason benching contributed to the team's decision to finish out the season behind Richardson.

Indianapolis will now hope Jones will serve as a bigger threat for the starting job as they look for Richardson to take a significant step forward in his third NFL season.

The Minnesota Vikings are facing a major decision at the quarterback position, but they can take solace knowing J.J. McCarthy's health is reportedly one less thing to worry about this offseason.

The No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft was expected to be the team's franchise quarterback, but a preseason knee injury cost him his rookie campaign and forced him to undergo a repair for his torn meniscus in August and another surgery in November.

Yet NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that the Michigan product "is expected to begin football drills in the next few weeks and should be ready to roll by OTAs in May."

Given that news, all eyes will turn to the front office's decision with Sam Darnold.

Darnold was unexpectedly brilliant for the Vikings in place of McCarthy during the 2024 season and made his first career Pro Bowl while completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

However, he is scheduled for free agency this offseason.

On the one hand, signing a 27-year-old quarterback coming off that type of season to a multiyear contract would make sense. On the other hand, the 2024 campaign is an anomaly in his career to this point, as Darnold was 21-35 as a starter for the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers prior to joining the Vikings.

He also struggled mightily in Minnesota's loss to the Detroit Lions in the final regular-season game and Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs, which cut short much of the momentum he was building heading into an important offseason.

The front office could use the franchise tag on him if it doesn't want to commit the resources necessary for a long-term deal, especially with McCarthy waiting in the wings. Or it could complete a tag-and-trade and fully hand the reins over to the the 22-year-old.

After all, the Vikings drafted McCarthy when they did for a reason, and they will surely want to see what he is capable of at the NFL level sooner rather than later.

And he will have the chance to show them with a fully healthy knee heading into the 2025 campaign.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell isn't closing the door on bringing back quarterback Sam Darnold.

"Look, you guys know how I feel about Sam," O'Connell told reporters Thursday at the NFL Honors. "He is a guy that we identified last year as somebody who could come in and be successful. And really no matter where he was at before he arrived in his quarterback journey, it was about maximizing our time together. And I think we did that, and I think it was a very special year for Sam. And what that earned him is, everybody in our league now thinks he's a bona fide legitimate starting quarterback and can win a lot of football games. He won 14 of them [in 2024].

"So he's earned the right to be a free agent, but we will continue to have ongoing dialogue and discussions with him and his representation."

Minnesota at least has some options.

ESPN's Kevin Seifert reported it is considering placing the franchise tag on the veteran, signing him to a multiyear deal or simply moving on to J.J. McCarthy, who was the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft and presumed franchise quarterback until he missed his rookie campaign with a knee injury.

Darnold seemed to be nothing more than a short-term bandaid for the McCarthy situation, given some of his struggles in previous stops, but he instead turned in a career season for the Vikings by going 14-3 as a starter and completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

It was far different from his time with the New York Jets when he went 13-25 as a starter. He also bounced around to the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers and seemed destined to be a backup as his career progressed before turning things around in Minnesota.

Yet the Darnold conversation also has to take into account his struggles in the biggest moments.

He went 18-of-41 in a 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions in the final game of the regular season with the NFC's No. 1 seed hanging in the balance and then led the offense to just nine points in a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round.

It was easy to see flashes of the old Darnold in those performances, and it was also easy to speculate he cost himself significant money come free agency.

At least it seems like he didn't cost himself a chance to return to the Vikings given O'Connell's comments.

Kevin O'Connell has won the NFL's Coach of the Year award after leading the Minnesota Vikings to 14 wins, doubling the team's victory total from 2023.

This year's COY race was a close contest between O'Connell and Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, but KOC won in the end. He also bested fellow finalists Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs, Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos and Dan Quinn of the Washington Commanders.

Last year's Vikings went 7-10 during an injury-riddled season that saw quarterback Kirk Cousins lost for the year after eight games with a torn Achilles and superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson miss seven games with a hamstring issue.

This year's Vikings went into the season with a new quarterback in Sam Darnold, who was expected to serve as bridge quarterback to rookie J.J. McCarthy. Darnold was firmly entrenched as the year's QB1, however, when McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus in a preseason game.

Darnold was once the expected cornerstone franchise player with the New York Jets, who selected the ex-USC star with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. He was gone by 2021 after three uneven seasons, and his chance to start with the Carolina Panthers then fell by the wayside after 16 games over 2021 and 2022. Following a year as Brock Purdy's backup in San Francisco, Darnold found himself in Minnesota.

Minnesota proceeded to finish ninth in scoring, averaging 25.4 points per game. Darnold enjoyed a career year, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns.

The Vikings' defense excelled as well, finishing fifth in scoring. Minnesota held its opponents to seven or fewer points on three different occasions.

The Vikings rolled off five straight wins to start the year. After a two-game losing streak, Minnesota then had a nine-game win streak to move to 14-2.

That set up a battle with the Detroit Lions for the NFC North title and the conference's No. 1 seed. Minnesota fell short before eventually losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card round.

However, this was still an excellent regular season for Minnesota, and O'Connell was at the forefront of it.

The former Rams offensive coordinator has coached Minnesota for three seasons. His first year was a success as well, as Minnesota improved from 8-9 to 13-4 and won the NFC North.

The future is bright in Minnesota with O'Connell in town, and now he has some hardware showcasing the respect for his work.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy just wants a "fair opportunity" to win the team's starting signal-caller job next year amid much uncertainty regarding the team's future at the position.

McCarthy spoke about the matter on The Rich Eisen Show Tuesday (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk).

"All I could ask for is a fair opportunity," McCarthy said.

"That's the one thing I feel like everybody's given and it's fundamental. When money gets involved, things get complicated and reps get skewed and there's different things that come into the whole political world that everyone talks about. I have to focus on controlling what I can control. My feelings don't matter. I'm not getting any grace. There's no sympathy, this is the big leagues."

The Vikings brought in veteran Sam Darnold on a one-year deal in essence as a bridge quarterback last March, One month later, the Vikings selected the ex-Michigan star with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Unfortunately, McCarthy never got to showcase his talents. He suffered a torn meniscus in his team's first preseason game and missed the entire season.

Meanwhile, Darnold thrived with 4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdowns while leading the Vikings to a 14-win season. It was a sensational comeback for Darnold, who had a largely disappointing start to his career after the New York Jets selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL draft.

The end of Darnold and the Vikings' season didn't go so well, as the Vikings lost 31-9 to the Detroit Lions in a Week 18 battle for the NFC's No. 1 seed before they fell 27-9 to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card round.

However, one can surmise that the Vikings could, in theory, bring Darnold back into the mix. Of course, Darnold could simply head elsewhere in free agency, but as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network noted to Eisen, the quarterback situation in Minnesota is a "fluid" one right now.

The decision is ultimately above McCarthy's "pay grade," as he notes, but he (understandably) wants a fair shake here at the Vikings' job.

NFL teams in need of a quarterback are reportedly reluctant when it comes to the idea of signing Sam Darnold in free agency.

According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, Darnold's "poor play" over the Minnesota Vikings' final two games of the season "scared" teams that may have otherwise considered signing him.

Howe added that Darnold was once viewed as the top free agent available and a lock to land a contract worth over $40 million per year, but that may no longer be the case.

Darnold, 27, was originally the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft by the New York Jets, and it looked for quite some time like he was a bust.

Over his three seasons in New York, Darnold went 13-25 and completed just 59.8 percent of his passes for 8.097 yards, 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions.

Things didn't get any better for him during a two-year stint with the Carolina Panthers, as he went 8-9 as a starter and completed 59.5 percent of his passing attempts for 3,670 yards, 16 touchdowns and 16 picks.

After one season as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers, the Vikings signed Darnold as a potential reclamation project and one-year replacement for Kirk Cousins, who left to sign with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency.

Once rookie first-round pick J.J. McCarthy was ruled out for the season due to a knee injury suffered during the preseason, Darnold entered the 2024 campaign as Minnesota's starter.

He proceeded to far exceed expectations by leading the Vikes to a 14-3 record and setting new career marks by completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns to go along with 12 interceptions.

Everything went well for Darnold and the Vikings until the final game of the regular season when they faced the Detroit Lions with the NFC North title and a first-round playoff bye on the line.

The Lions were dominant in a 31-9 victory, and Darnold struggled mightily, going 18-of-41 for 166 yards with no touchdowns or picks.

That set up a first-round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, and it led to another one-sided loss for Minnesota.

In a 27-9 defeat, Darnold went 25-of-40 for 245 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and he was sacked nine times and lost a fumble.

While the Vikings could still re-sign Darnold, those showings may compel them to go all in on McCarthy as their starter next season.

If that happens, it is fair to wonder which teams would be willing to take a chance on Darnold in free agency.

The Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders and Jets are among the teams with an obvious need at quarterback, but all of them are picking in the top seven of the 2025 NFL draft, so they may be more inclined to take a chance on a rookie such as Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders.

A team picking further down like the Pittsburgh Steelers or Indianapolis Colts could be an option, but it will likely come down to cost and term.

There is undoubtedly risk involved with signing Darnold, but he did a lot more good than bad in 2024, and he is still only 27 years old, so it is possible that his best football is ahead of him.

Prince George's County (Maryland) state attorney Aisha N. Braveboy today revealed that a woman has been charged with 13 counts, including grossly negligent and criminally negligent vehicular manslaughter as well as driving under the influence, in response to a July 6, 2024 crash that killed Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson and two of his high school football teammates, Isaiah Hazel and Anthony Lytton Jr.

Multiple outlets and reporters relayed the news Thursday, including ESPN's Kevin Seifert, Jessica Kronzer of WTOP, and TMZ Sports.

Cori Clingman, who is 24 years old, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison. She remained in custody as of Thursday and is due for a bond hearing on Friday.

Seifert relayed details from the crash, which occurred at 3:14 a.m ET in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

"Maryland State Police said last summer that Hazel was driving a Dodge Charger with Jackson in the passenger seat when their car was struck by an Infiniti Q50 driven by Clingman, who was attempting to change lanes at a high speed. Clingman's car also struck a Chevrolet Impala. The Charger left the road and struck multiple tree stumps. According to police, Jackson and Hazel were pronounced dead at the scene, while Lytton was transported to a hospital before being pronounced dead by hospital personnel."

Braveboy stated in the press conference that Clingman went to school with Jackson, Hazel and Lytton. She also said "they all had known each other for a very long time."

"This was a horrific tragedy that should not have occurred," Braveboy said. She also remarked that Clingman's blood alcohol content was "at least" above 0.08 percent, the legal limit in Maryland.

Jackson played ball at Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro. He began his career at Fort Scott Community College before transferring to Alabama. Jackson flourished after leaving for Oregon in 2023, though, earning First-team All-Pac-12 honors.

He finished with three interceptions, 34 total tackles (25 solo), two sacks and 10 passes defended. Minnesota selected Jackson with a fourth-round draft pick last April.

Vikings leadership fondly remembered Jackson, who was honored this season with a KJ decal on player helmets.

"The way our culture is and, more importantly, speaking to our locker room and our players, it does not take long for guys to build strong bonds and relationships," Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said last July, per Vikings.com writer and editor Lindsey Young.

"Just through my dialogue throughout the summer with some of our veteran leadership, and they were communicating their feelings and things, it was pretty remarkable to hear the kind of impact [Khyree] had in such a short amount of time."

Vikings general manager Adofo-Mensah also had this to say, in part (per Young): "Between his joy, the way he attacked life and that hard-working spirit were why we were so excited to add him to this building, to this culture."

Seifert also noted that Jackson "endeared himself to a veteran team with his enthusiasm and confidence."

Kevin O'Connell is sticking around in Minneapolis for the long haul and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah appears likely to stay with him.

After the Minnesota Vikings and O'Connell agreed to a multiyear extension on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported talks are underway on an extension for Adofo-Mensah.

"The plan is to keep the braintrust together," Pelissero wrote.

Other NFL teams reportedly showed interest in trading for O'Connell before the Vikings extended him, according to The Athletic's Mike Sando. Adofo-Mensah would likely also have plenty of interest from other teams if he were to hit the open market.

O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah were both hired by the Vikings ahead of the 2022 season. They have since led the Vikings to a 34-17 regular-season record with three playoff appearances in as many seasons.

After missing out on the 2023 postseason and watching Kirk Cousins depart in free agency, the Vikings drafted projected starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy only to lose him to a season-ending knee injury in August.

The Vikings turned to Sam Darnold, who had most recently served as a backup for the San Francisco 49ers after struggling as QB1 with both the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, ahead of the 2024 season.

O'Connell then led both Darnold and the Vikings to a bounce-back season that saw the team clinch a playoff spot ahead of Week 15.

Darnold has given some credit to O'Connell for his comeback by telling reporters in November that the "detail" in the Vikings' coaching made "the quarterback position a little bit easier" (h/t Mark Craig of the Minnesota Star Tribune.)

After O'Connell received a new contract, Adofo-Mensah's toughest decision now will be whether or not to re-sign Darnold or turn the offense over to McCarthy.

In either case, Minnesota clearly has solid building blocks as it looks to remain one of the top contenders in the NFC.