Uncertainty surrounding NFL rumors about J.J. McCarthy has Minnesota facing some uncomfortable quarterback questions, and Daniel Jones keeps popping up in the rumor mill as a possible safety net.
With McCarthy concussed, struggling, and Max Brosmer set for his first NFL start, this season is already starting to feel like an extended audition for everyone in the room rather than a real playoff push.
Over at ESPN, Dan Graziano outlined how Jones’ Achilles tear could reshape the landscape, starting with the team that already has him. One scenario he has heard from league sources is Jones simply re-signing with the Colts on a short deal, rehabbing in-house with coaches who know he can run their system and stepping back in once cleared.
That could be another one-year contract or a two-year, incentive-heavy structure that only really pays out if he gets all the way back. Another theory is a return to Minnesota, where Jones finished last season as Sam Darnold’s backup.
The Vikings staff already liked him then, but could not promise a starting job, and bringing him back as a rehab project and competition for McCarthy would fit that template. What almost everyone agrees on, per Graziano, is that talk of a big, long-term extension moves to the back burner after another season-ending injury.
He even heard that a franchise or transition tag in 2026, projected between roughly $39 million and $46 million, is “not off the table,” with both sides likely needing a creative deal that gives Jones more than a one-year rental, given how late the Achilles tear occurred.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has framed the same dilemma in starker terms, pointing out that tagging Jones at that level would effectively triple his current salary and hand him leverage for a $50 million-per-year type contract if he rebounds.
For the Vikings, all of this means any Jones reunion would almost certainly come with caveats. If he ever hits the market, Minnesota makes sense as a suitor that already knows him and badly needs a competent veteran to push McCarthy.
But given how thin this free-agent quarterback class is and how highly the Colts still regard Jones, the more realistic outcome is that his rehab and future are decided in Indianapolis, while the Vikings weigh whether to follow that same “veteran challenger” blueprint with someone else.
