When it came down to it, in search of a clearer opportunity to start somewhere, Daniel Jones made the right decision not to re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings after he finished last season on their practice squad.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was arguably the most vulnerable starter in the league, and Jones beat him out for the job.
The Colts are off to a surprising 5-1 start this season, with Jones on center stage. He looks like the latest quarterback who simply needed a change of scenery, after what can best be called an up-and-down run with the New York Giants.
During a recent appearance on the "Fitz and Whit" podcast, with former NFL players Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth, Jones talked about how his time with the Vikings took his preparation game to another level.
"I always thought I worked really hard, I tried to work really hard, and it was important for me to prepare, watching film study. I think I did that.
But going to Minnesota, I saw how Sam [Darnold] prepared. I saw how Kevin [O'Connell] prepared those guys, Josh McCown, Grant Udinski, that crew, and how detailed they were, day in and day out, on every little bit of the plan.
How they're going to study it. What they're looking for, walking through it, quizzing each other in the quarterback room. That made a big impression on me. This is maybe the next level of some of that stuff."
Time with Minnesota Vikings unlocked Indianapolis Colts QB Daniel Jones (as expected)
At this point, it's no secret how Jones' time with the Vikings benefited him. After the Giants let him go in the middle of last season, he needed a reset. It was always fairly likely another team would reap any benefits of that reset, wherever he got it, and the Colts are that team.
In her "What I'm Hearing" column going into Week 6, Dianna Russini of The Athletic recalled a conversation she had a little over a year ago with Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley, of course, played with Jones in New York and has been a well-known endorser of his former teammate.
Russini then offered some extra insight about Jones, from his time with the Vikings and the residual impact that has come to fruition thus far with the Colts.
"In Minnesota, the coaching staff loved that Jones had been through the toughest part of the business: being a quarterback in New York. They loved his work ethic, humility and intelligence, and as one coach there put it, “his best trait is he’s coachable, coachable, coachable!
As someone in Indianapolis explained, “He’s playing with confidence that needed to come out. He’s no longer afraid.”
The scrutiny of the New York media market can be overblown at times. But it's also very real if you or your team is struggling, and Jones struggled to play with confidence on a consistent basis during his time with the Giants.
Of all the teams he could have landed with to try to reset his career, evidence that the Vikings were the most ideal spot for Jones keeps on coming.