Questions Answered: Daniel Jones Rumors, Bears-Vikings Takeaways, Akayleb Evans
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the November 25th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Daniel Jones Rumors, Bears-Vikings Takeaways, Akayleb Evans
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: Have you warmed up to the idea of Daniel Jones as QB2? It sounds like the Vikings want him.
Answer: We’d buy in, yes, to Jones as the Vikings’ QB2 or QB3 for the season’s remainder.
For the long haul, though, we prefer the team belong to J.J. McCarthy — and him only. When the Jones theories dusted up last week, there was some insinuation that he and McCarthy would have a 2025 summer camp battle for the QB1 job. We want nothing to do with that.
O’Connell wouldn’t deny the Vikings’ would-be interest in Jones on Monday. “Yeah, I’m not gonna really get into that today, but I will say: tons of respect for Daniel Jones as a player and a person. Got to know him through the draft process years ago, and I’m sure now that he’s a free agent, and there’s probably a ton of leaguewide interest in him,” O’Connell told reporters.
“Daniel’s going to make the decision that’s best for him and his career moving forward, and I’m sure he’s working through that process right now. But I really can’t get into too much about, you know, any short term or long term [interest]. I can just say I’ve been a fan of Daniel’s for a long time, and hope wherever his next stop takes him, it’s a good opportunity for him.”
A backup gig behind Darnold sounds okay to us — especially because Darnold has battled little injuries since Week 3.
Q: What’s your biggest takeaway from the Vikings’ win over Chicago?
Answer: Sam Darnold can be cold-blooded in the clutch.
Why was Darnold’s late-game performance so vital, so telling? Simple — nobody knows (or knew) for sure if Darnold has the clutch gene in his cellular makeup. The man has never started a game in the postseason, nor has he ever really come close outside of a QB2 assignment with the San Francisco 49ers last year.
For the most part, Vikings fans have watched Darnold through 12 weeks, hoping his regular season production would remain afloat. Thinking about Darnold, game-winning drives, and the postseason were future problems. Many merely didn’t want the fancy 5-0 start of 2024 to mirror 2016 when the bottom fell out.
Now, however, after witnessing Darnold’s cold-blooded demeanor in Chicago, there’s a reasonable expectation that he can mimic such plays in January — the environment hostile, the stakes pretty damn high after his team nearly blew a 24-10 lead.
He did it with the game on the line against the Bears. He can do it again in January.
Q: I saw that the Panthers grabbed Akayleb Evans off the waiver wire. Will he start there?
Answer: No.
The Panthers employ Jaycee Horn on one side of the defense, and he won’t be benched. And a man named Mike Jackson plays decently on the other side.
Evans might see some playing time but don’t expect him to be on the field too often.
This is the Panthers’ CB depth chart:
- Jaycee Horn
- Mike Jackson
- Caleb Farley
- Dane Jackson
- Shemar Bartholomew
- Akayleb Evans
- Chau Smith-Wade
- Lonnie Johnson
- Anthony Brown (IR)
He might get some reps, but nothing substantial.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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