As free agency has essentially begun as of Monday, there are a few teams expressing interest in Vikings free agent, Brett Jones. Two of these teams are rivals of Minnesota: the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
https://twitter.com/christomasson/status/1371503110548512770?s=20
The combo guard/center Jones got very limited play in 2020 for the Vikings, playing just 138 offensive snaps. That said, when Jones was called to fill in on the offensive line, he was quite productive. Per PFF, he graded at 77.6, with a 76.1 pass blocking grade and 73.6 run blocking grade.
The 29-year-old began his professional career in the CFL before joining the New York Giants prior to the 2016 season. Following a short stint with the Jets, Jones joined the Vikings in 2018 and served as a viable backup in both 2018 and 2020, appearing in 29 total games between the two seasons. These years sandwich a 2019 season in which he spent much of the season on IR due to a torn meniscus.
Jones and the Vikings have been through this free agency process a couple times in the past few years. Prior to the 2019 season, the Vikings cut Jones only to re-sign him days later on a cheaper deal. The Vikings, obviously, also brought him back for the 2020 season after that contract expired.
There is a lack of any evidence either way that the Vikings intend to bring him back for a fourth season or let him walk this offseason. That said, Jones has certainly provided some much needed depth to the offensive line during his years in Minnesota, and could do the same for any team that he chooses to sign with in 2021.
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Jones circled back and re-signed with us during free agency both of the last two years when he didn't find any takers. But then he'd played poorly in 2018 and almost not at all in 2019. Green Bay, Seattle and Houston are all looking for new starting centers (or re-signing their old ones for a lot less money), while Denver - the latter two teams being mentioned by Tomasson - may just be looking for IOL depth. I wonder if any of them run the power blocking schemes that I think Jones is supposed to be better at than the zone schemes we've been running since 2017.
If Jones doesn't get signed by anyone else, I'd bet on the Vikes being willing to re-up him yet again as a good, veteran back-up. But I'm guessing he signs elsewhere, and may get a chance, at least, to compete for a starting job.