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The Minnesota Vikings are playing like one of the best teams in the NFC right now. Minnesota is 9-2 heading into Week 13 and is only one game behind Detroit in the NFC North division standings. Minnesota made a key free agent addition on Wednesday to bolster the QB position ahead of the playoffs.
The Vikings signed QB Daniel Jones on Wednesday, making him the new backup for Sam Darnold for the rest of the season.
Stephen A. Smith dismissed the signing during an epic rant on Wednesday via First Take.
“Okay,” Smith said while making a dismissive shrug. “I had to MC a journalism event this week. One of the subjects mentioned was the excessive use of breaking news. Everything break news.”
Smith then seemed to complain that other topics, such as college football, are more worthy of discussion than the Vikings signing Daniel Jones. In Smith’s opinion, the Daniel Jones signing does not qualify as breaking news.
“We hope that he’ll start again in the NFL,” Smith continued. “Clearly his career with the New York Giants wasn’t much to write home about….Of course we’re a sports show and we have to cover it.”
Smith then admitted that the Vikings are an extremely relevant team in the NFC, implying that this alone makes the story worth covering.
“Here’s what I would say to Daniel Jones… ‘you’re back up Sam Darnold.’ You ain’t backing up Patrick Mahomes, you ain’t backing up Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson,” Smith concluded.
Ultimately, it seems Smith views this as a non-story because of Daniel Jones and not because of the Vikings.
What are the Vikings actually getting in Daniel Jones.
Jones has been a highly-criticized quarterback ever since being selected with the sixth overall pick back in the 2019 NFL Draft. He has been a below-average starter, which does not match his high draft pedigree. This is the source of some of his criticism.
Jones does not have the highest floor or ceiling, but he can provide consistent production from the quarterback position. He also boasts the threat of scrambling and running on designed QB runs that can gash opposing defenses.
The Vikings have the chance to get a look at Jones throughout the rest of this season. If they like what they see, he could be J.J. McCarthy’s backup in 2025. Assuming Sam Darnold leaves Minnesota to sign a contract elsewhere of course.
If the Vikings are not impressed with Jones, they can simply cut him or let his contract expire.
Next up for the Vikings is a Week 13 matchup against the Cardinals.
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