Just one practice squad move to pass along:
Minnesota Vikings
Marcellus Johnson, an undrafted rookie out of Mizzou, spent much of the preseason with the Giants. He was later scooped up by the Vikings, where he had a short stint on the team’s practice squad. He’s once again landed on Minnesota’s taxi squad, and this could bode well for his chances of sticking around via a reserve/futures contract.
Sam Darnold enters tonight’s wild-card game as the Vikings’ unquestioned starter. Nick Mullens has been the free agency addition’s backup all season, as he is closing out his third season with the team. But Daniel Jones‘ recent promotion from the practice squad could shake things up as the Vikings enter the playoffs.
Kevin O’Connell said (via ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert) Jones has improved since joining the team in late November and described his team’s backup situation as “fluid” going into the Rams matchup in Arizona. O’Connell also declined to state who would step in for Darnold in the event of an injury, pointing to Jones having a legitimate shot to do so. Jones said (via the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Emily Leiker) he is preparing as if he will be the No. 2 option tonight.
Jones is obviously far more experienced as a starter compared to Mullens, though the latter has made 20 starts as a pro. Most of those came in San Francisco, but the three-year Viking did see four starts after Kirk Cousins went down last year. Jones being ready for a QB2 role in time for the playoffs would also make sense, as he was linked to a few teams as a free agent. While developing under O’Connell represents a plus, it would be a bit odd if he chose a team that did not end up moving him past the third-string level.
By moving Jones up to the active roster when they did, the Vikings are positioned — depending on their free agency activity — to land a compensatory pick if/when Jones departs in free agency. Darnold is also coming off a rough outing in Detroit, a showdown that devolved into a blowout loss. It would obviously be shocking if O’Connell benched Darnold at any point tonight or during the playoffs, but Jones’ presence does add a bit of intrigue if the starter cannot rebound from a tough outing.
Darnold reaching free agency would make him the clear-cut top QB on the market, but late-season rumblings have also introduced the franchise tag as a legitimate consideration here. Some executives around the league believe Minnesota will retain Darnold, potentially via the tag, rather than lose him and throw an untested J.J. McCarthy into the deep end to open next season, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. Darnold staying via $40MM-plus tag also should be considered likely, Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson writes.
This would open up a scenario in which the Vikings continue to assess McCarthy’s development without trading the 2024 top-10 pick. A trade market could form, but the meniscus injury — one that has led to two surgeries — would also give teams pause about the former national champion even on a weaker QB market. Darnold also may not be thrilled to stay in Minnesota with a McCarthy threat looming — as it did this past offseason — but the tag would allow the Vikings to effectively move their 2024 QB plan to 2025. Darnold would be in position to remain the starter, allowing the Vikings more time to assess both their prominent passers.
Of course, Darnold would run the risk on losing value if he cannot sustain his 2024 play next season. The backup-turned-Pro Bowler would be a candidate to top $40MM per year if allowed to test free agency, and guarantees would top that by a significant margin. That would probably be the best-case scenario for Darnold financially, and it surfaced as a viable option as recently as early December. But he may have played too well for the Vikings to merely move on for only a third-round compensatory pick. While tag money would boost Darnold, he would enter a “prove it” year — after arguably already proving he is an upper-echelon starter — with a potential nine-figure contract at stake for 2026 in that reality.
Even in the days before Darnold’s Detroit outing, Fowler indicated he did not speak with an NFL staffer who believed a team would pay Darnold top-10 QB money. This would be due to the former Jets draftee’s inconsistent history. As of now, Kyler Murray‘s $46.1MM-per-year deal sits 10th among quarterbacks. This maligned draft class and a lack of other potential long-term starters could still conceivably pump up Darnold’s market to that neighborhood, if the Vikings let him walk, but how he fares in the playoffs would also play a significant role in crystalizing the seventh-year vet’s value.
The Vikes will probably give strong consideration to preventing that reality from transpiring, as they are projected to carry more than $69MM in cap space. That would be enough for a tag to be unholstered, even if it ate into Minnesota’s free agency plans at other roster spots. How Minnesota proceeds here will be one of this coming offseason’s top storylines.
A rare Sunday practice squad transaction as we head towards a playoff game tomorrow:
Minnesota Vikings
With the regular season in the books, all NFL teams have declared their cap carryover for the 2025 league year. Unused cap space from the current campaign will roll over, a substantial element of many teams’ financial planning.
Last offseason saw a record-breaking jump in the salary cap ceiling (pushing the upper limit to $255.4MM). To no surprise, another spike is expected but a smaller year-to-year increase is likely to take place. It was learned last month that teams are preparing for the 2025 cap to check in at a figure between $265MM-$275MM.
As teams evaluate key roster-building decisions – including restructures and cuts aimed at manufacturing cap space – carryovers are crucial. It it still not known what exactly the cap ceiling will wind up as, but in the meantime every club’s space which has been rolled over will add a degree of clarity with respect to how their offseason will take shape. Several teams (including the top two on this year’s list) have made a concerted effort in recent years to carry unused space through the course of a campaign knowing a spike in cap charges for core players are forthcoming.
Courtesy of Over the Cap, here is the full breakdown of each team’s 2025 cap carryover amount:
As the California wildfires continue, the NFL has moved the upcoming Wild Card Round game between the Rams and Vikings. The NFL announced that Monday’s game, which was intended to be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, has been relocated to State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals. The game is scheduled for the same start time.
In the statement, the NFL said the move was made “in the interest of public safety.” The statement also said the decision was made “in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the NFLPA.”
As NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero passes along, this will mark only the second time in league history that the NFL has had to change the location of a playoff game (excluding Super Bowls). The other instance happened in 1936, when the NFL had to move the Championship Game matchup between the Boston Redskins and Green Bay Packers from Fenway Park in Boston to the Polo Grounds in New York. This was due to owner George Preston Marshall’s dissatisfaction with local fan support, and it preceded the team’s move to Washington in 1937.
The NFL revealed their contingency plan earlier this week, with State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona representing the league’s targeted venue.
“The NFL’s priority is the safety of the Los Angeles community,” that previous statement read. “We are grateful for the tireless efforts of the first responders. Our hearts are with Los Angeles and everyone affected by the fires.”
According to ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry, the Rams canceled their post-practice locker room scrum today so players could tend to their families and homes. Several players and coaches live in the area of the active Kenneth fire.
Today’s practice squad moves:
Minnesota Vikings
Philadelphia Eagles
Today’s minor moves:
Detroit Lions
Los Angeles Chargers
Minnesota Vikings
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Titans and Raiders again became part of a GM carousel in the 2020s. Tennessee canned its front office boss after two seasons, while Las Vegas moved on after one. These two joined the Jets, and after two-plus offseason weeks, the Jaguars followed suit by firing Trent Baalke. With the Titans, Raiders and Jets landing on GMs, the Jags are the only team left searching. Here is how the GM market looks:
Updated 2-21-25 (4:00pm CT)
After spending more than a month on the Vikings’ practice squad, Daniel Jones is making the move up. Minnesota is signing the veteran quarterback to its 53-man roster.
To make room for the former Giants starter, the Vikings waived Brett Rypien. This marks the second time this year Rypien has been let go; the Bears released him in August. Rypien had resided on Minnesota’s active roster since signing with the team two days later.
As this is a true signing rather than a practice squad elevation, Jones would now net the Vikings a compensatory pick — depending on how Minnesota proceeds in free agency — in the 2026 draft, the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling notes. Jones would have been in line to fetch the Giants a comp pick, but the NFC East team forfeited that right by waiving him.
Talent-wise, Jones would make sense as the player who would be best suited to replace Sam Darnold in the event of an injury, but backup Nick Mullens has been in Kevin O’Connell‘s system for three seasons now. Mullens, however, went 0-3 as a Minnesota starter last season. Jones went 2-8 with the Giants this year, as far as wins and losses go, and did not come close to justifying the four-year, $160MM extension the Giants bailed on midway through. That said, Jones played efficiently in 2022 and is a former No. 6 overall pick. It would stand to reason this move to the 53 would position him as a player the Vikings would strongly consider using in an emergency.
For the first time in his career, Darnold has not missed a start during a season. Illnesses and injuries have plagued the former Jets No. 3 overall pick during his starter seasons, removing Darnold’s 2023 49ers stay from this equation. The former Jets and Panthers starter missed three games apiece in 2018 and ’19 and then was sidelined for four in 2020. A broken collarbone sidelined Darnold for much of the 2021 season, and a high ankle sprain — sustained after Baker Mayfield had beaten him out for Carolina’s QB1 gig — kept him out for much of the 2022 slate. Though, the Vikings have seen Darnold provide stability after J.J. McCarthy‘s season-ending knee injury.
While Darnold has transformed his free agency stock — to the point the Vikings may use the franchise tag to keep him off the market — Jones’ is rather murky. A thin QB crop, even factoring in Kirk Cousins‘ likely release, would stand to help the six-year Giants starter. But his injury past and mostly shaky track record (zero seasons north of 7.0 yards per attempt) will make teams hesitant. For now, he is in place as insurance on a 14-3 Vikings team. Free agency will loom soon after.
Brian Flores‘ first head coaching opportunity came with the Dolphins and lasted three seasons. Since his dismissal in 2021, his oft-discussed NFL experience has resulted in several interviews but no HC gigs as of yet. The 2025 cycle marks the next time in which that could change. 
When speaking about his situation on Tuesday, Flores made his intentions clear with respect to the upcoming interview process. The Vikings defensive coordinator said he will meet with every team which submits an interview request. So far, the Bears and Jets have done so; in the wake of the Raiders’ decision to fire Antonio Pierce, there are now four other head coaching vacancies around the league.
“It’s an honor, certainly, that I definitely don’t take that lightly,” Flores said about head coaching interviews (via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert). “I look forward to having those conversations and talking to people about my football journey, my leadership journey.”
As his racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and several teams continues to work its way through court, Flores again finds himself in position to speak with suitors for a second HC opportunity. The 43-year-old worked on the Steelers’ staff in 2022 before taking his current position at the helm of Minnesota’s defense. The unit ranked fifth in points allowed this year, while leading the league in interceptions and finishing fifth in sacks. That success has yielded continued interest in the 2025 cycle, although Flores declined to say if he feels his upcoming interviews are set up merely to satisfy the Rooney Rule.
In any case, at least one of the vacancies Flores has not yet been connected to has his attention. The former Patriots staffer indicated he is interested in New England’s vacancy, one which opened on Sunday with Jerod Mayo‘s firing. The former Patriots linebacker was dismissed after one year in charge, and another ex-player (Mike Vrabel) is seen as the top candidate to replace him. Flores joined New England’s staff as a scouting assistant in 2004, and his tenure with the organization included working on special teams and defense through the 2018 season.
“I mean, we’re talking about going home where it all started,” Flores said when asked about potentially interviewing with the Patriots. “So I think that’s a place that’s definitely a special place… So I would say yes [to speaking with the team]. But at the same time, it’s not up to me as to whether or not they would want to talk to me or anything like that.”
Flores’ Dolphins tenure began with a 5-11 season, and it was followed by 10-6 and 9-8 campaigns. His handling of many Miami players – including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – has been a frequent talking point, along with clashes with general manager Chris Grier. A fresh start remains his goal, though, and it will be interesting to see if the current hiring cycle produces a long list of suitors.