The move we’ve been anticipating
There’s a new QB3 in town for the Minnesota Vikings.
The team has announced that they have brought quarterback Daniel Jones up to the active roster from their practice squad. In order to make room for him on the roster, they made the easy move and waived quarterback Brett Rypien.
The Vikings signed Jones shortly after he was waived by the New York Giants in late November. He signed a big contract extension with New York. . .powered largely, ironically enough, by his performance against the Vikings in the 2022 playoffs. . .ahead of the 2023 season, and then missed most of 2023 with a torn ACL. Jones was back at the helm for the Giants in 2024 but struggled mightily, going 2-8 in his ten starts and having just eight touchdown passes against seven interceptions.
Rypien was signed by the Vikings after Training Camp when the Vikings decided that Jaren Hall was no longer a part of their future plans. He has held down the #3 quarterback role all season long, being inactive on game days but serving as the “emergency” quarterback in the event that both Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens were to get injured.
The move gives the Vikings an opportunity to claim a Compensatory Draft Pick for Jones if he signs with another team in free agency after the season. If Darnold should end up departing during the offseason in some way, the Vikings could wind up keeping Jones around as a high-end backup to J.J. McCarthy or even as a potential option to start if they deem McCarthy to not be ready to go after missing his entire rookie season. Either way, it’s not surprising that the team has now added Jones to the roster, and he’ll likely fill the role that Rypien has held this season.
