Daniel Jones has a new lease on his NFL life after signing with the Minnesota Vikings.

The move came after Jones was benched by the New York Giants amidst a poor season for player and team.

The Giants also didn’t want to risk putting Jones on the field given his large injury guarantee, and as a result he was assigned to play safety on the scout team in practice. In the end the former Duke quarterback asked for his release, which was granted.

Now Jones is hoping to revive his career as a backup for the 9-2 Vikings. He spoke with reporters about his decision to sign with Minnesota, pointing to head coach Kevin O’Connell and his system as a reason why.

“You look at offensively what they’ve been able to do, the system, coach [Kevin] O’Connell and his staff. Just a lot of good things happening across the board as a team and organization, and on offense especially,” Jones said.

“Just excited to join that and help out where I can.”

Jones will now backup Sam Darnold, who has found a new lease on his NFL career after also flaming out while in New York with the Jets for three seasons.

“We haven’t had a ton of crossover on film, so I haven’t watched too closely,” Jones said in reference to Darnold. “But just from following him and seeing some games on TV, obviously he’s been playing at an extremely high level and doing a lot of good things.

“Happy for him. I’ve known Sam for a while know, and always kind of pulled for him. He’s had a great year and played at a really high level.”

Jones hoping for more success in Minnesota

While there weren’t many, one of the bright spots in Jones’ career with the Giants came during a 31-24 road playoff win against the Vikings in 2022/23.

“I like U.S. Bank Stadium,” Jones said while smiling. “It is an incredible stadium, and the fans there are incredible.

“I’m looking forward to being back there and seeing it on Sunday.”