Vikings to add Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones in free agency

. YOU’RE WATCHING FOX NINE ALL DAY. WELL, THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US FOR ALL DAY. I’M TIM BLOTS. YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN A BUSY DAY FOR THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS WHO OF COURSE LOST QUARTERBACK KIRK COUSINS YESTERDAY. AND TODAY WE’VE GOT A NEW QUARTERBACK AND ALSO A BRAND NEW RUNNING BACK. SO LET’S START RIGHT AWAY WITH THE QUARTERBACK. THE NFL NETWORK REPORTS THAT THE VIKINGS HAVE SIGNED SAM DARNOLD TO A ONE YEAR DEAL WORTH $10 MILLION. NOW, DARNOLD SPENT LAST YEAR IN SAN FRANCISCO BACKING UP BROCK PURDY. NOW, AS FOR THE RUNNING BACK AARON

JONES OF THE GREEN BAY PACKERS, HE’S HAUNTED THE VIKINGS FOR THE PAST SEVERAL SEASONS, BUT NOW HE’S JOINING THEM AND A ONE YEAR DEAL. THE PACKERS RELEASED JONES YESTERDAY AFTER THEY SIGNED RAIDERS RUNNING BACK JOSH JACOBS. BILL KELLER HAS MORE ON ALL OF THE CHANGES THAT THE VIKINGS ARE WASTING NO TIME. THE FRONT OFFICE IS ALREADY LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING TO THE FUTURE. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, THE VIKINGS REACHED A DEAL TO SIGN SAM DARNOLD TO A ONE YEAR DEAL WORTH $10 MILLION. DARNOLD STARTED HIS CAREER WITH THE NEW YORK JETS IN 2018, BEFORE HEADING TO

THE CAROLINA PANTHERS AND EVENTUALLY SAN FRANCISCO, WHERE HE SPENT LAST SEASON AS A BACKUP QB. NOW, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE HE COULD START FOR THE VIKINGS. $10 MILLION IS NOT BACK UP MONEY, BUT MANY EXPECT THE TEAM TO

TRY AND PICK THEIR QUARTERBACK OF THE FUTURE DURING NEXT MONTH’S DRAFT. VIKINGS ANALYST PETE BERCICH DISCUSSING THE VERY SCENARIO WITH JIM RICH LAST NIGHT. BUT A GUY LIKE DARNOLD? YEAH, IF THE VIKINGS BRING SOMEONE LIKE HIM IN, I WOULD EXPECT THEM. YEAH. NOW HE’S NOT THE FUTURE RIGHT. HE’S NOT HE’S NOT GOING TO BE THE FUTURE

HERE. BUT HE’S PROBABLY GOING TO BE THAT GUY AND SAY HEY, YOU KNOW, HE’S A STOPGAP MEASURE. WE’D PREFER TO HIM TO BE A BACKUP WITH US. IDEALLY, WE CAN BRING IN A ROOKIE, MAYBE SAY, HEY DARNOLD IS YOUR TEAM THE YOU KNOW, YOUNG GUY IS GOING TO WE’RE GOING TO PRESS HIM AND TRY TO GET HIM READY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. BUT, YOU KNOW AT LEAST YOU HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY THERE. NOW THE SITUATION COULD ALSO COMPLICATE NEGOTIATIONS WITH JUSTIN JEFFERSON. THE VIKINGS. WELL, THEY’VE BEEN TRYING TO LOCK DOWN THEIR STAR WIDE RECEIVER TO A

CONTRACT EXTENSION. BUT NOW WITH KIRK GONE, JEFFERSON MAY NO LONGER BE INTERESTED IN A LONG TERME DEAL HE IS STILL UNDER CONTRACT FOR THIS SEASON, BUT DEPENDING ON WHO’S THROWING HIM THE BALL, HE MAY WANT TO TRY ELSEWHERE. MEANWHILE, THE KIRK COUSINS ERA IS OVER AFTER SIX SEASONS WITH THE VIKINGS, COUSINS HEADED SOUTH, GOING TO ATLANTA, THE FALCONS OFFERING HIM A HUGE PAYDAY. A FOUR YEAR CONTRACT $180 MILLION 100 MILLION OF THAT GUARANTEED. EXPERTS SAY IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THE VIKINGS WERE EVER GOING TO OFFER UP THAT SAME QUARTERBACK COMING OFF AN ACHILLES INJURY. LOOKING

AHEAD TO THE DRAFT, THE VIKINGS CURRENTLY HOLD THE 11TH PICK, COULD BE DIFFICULT. THERE ARE SIX QBS EXPECTED TO GO IN THE FIRST ROUND, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF TEAMS AHEAD OF THE VIKINGS. THEY ALSO NEED TO FILL THAT QUARTERBACK POSITION, SO THE TEAM MAY NEED TO TRADE UP TO GET A TOP PLAYER OR HOPE THAT THEIR GUY IS STILL AVAILABLE WHEN THEIR PICK COMES AROUND AT THE BOTTOM LINE. STILL A LOT OF BIG ADJUSTMENT FOR THE TEAM AND THE FANS AS THIS GAME OF QUARTERBACK MUSICAL CHAIRS CONTINUES IN EAGAN. BILL KELLER,