After finishing the 2024 season on the Vikings’ bench, quarterback Daniel Jones signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.
Jones joined Minnesota’s practice squad halfway through last season following his release from the Giants. When it became evident this offseason that the Vikings would not be re-signing Sam Darnold, Jones would have had an opportunity to compete against 2024 No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy. Of course, Jones pivoted and ultimately signed with the Colts — at the last minute.
“It sounded like the Vikings thought that Jones was coming back, but then they just got the sense right at the end that he was really not convicted about coming back to Minnesota, ended up taking a little bit less in terms of guaranteed money from the Colts to end up in Indianapolis,” Pelissero said on the “Ross Tucker Football Podcast” on Wednesday. “When you’re Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, you’ve basically formed this system and environment in which any quarterback coming in has played well, and so we think we can do different things.
‘If you don’t want to be here, we’re not going to hold you,’ so they pulled the offer to … Jones, and he goes to the Colts.”
Jones, the No. 6 pick in the 2022 drft, was cut by the Giants last November after six inconsistent seasons. In 2024, he threw for 2,070 yards and had an 8-7 touchdown-interception ratio. The Giants were 2-8 at the time of his release.
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Bridget Hyland may be reached at bhyland@njadvancemedia.com.