EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The quarterback revitalization program the Minnesota Vikings have unofficially launched under coach Kevin O'Connell has a new participant: Daniel Jones.
The sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft who requested his release by the New York Giants last week was signed to Minnesota's practice squad on Friday, after deciding to join a 9-2 team with an NFL -wide reputation for a player-friendly environment and a coach with a knack for quarterback development.
“It’s been a crazy last couple of weeks, for sure. Certainly a lot going on. At the end of the day, I’m excited to be here. This is an awesome opportunity,” Jones said after his first practice with the Vikings. “I’m looking forward to learning the system and building relationships with these guys and helping the team.”
After going 24-44-1 as a starter, Jones was benched by the Giants, who are now 2-10. They had a clear eye on the $23 million guarantee for injury on his contract for 2025.
After receiving an extension prior to the 2023 season that carried a $40 million annual average value, Jones won only three more games for New York. His performance in 2022, leading the Giants to the playoffs with a league-best interception rate and 708 rushing yards, precipitated their financial commitment. The game that sealed the deal, as it turned out, was a wild-card round playoff win at Minnesota in which he passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 78 yards without a turnover.
“I may or may not have said to him this morning, ‘Our team is really looking forward to getting back to U.S. Bank Stadium. I’m sure you are too,’” O’Connell said, reflecting on the sour end to his 13-4 rookie year. “I remember that afternoon like it was yesterday.”
Two seasons later, Jones has landed back in quarterback school. Sam Darnold, another failed former New York quarterback who was drafted third overall by the Jets the year before Jones went to the Giants, has enjoyed a remarkable comeback in O'Connell's offense after rookie J.J. McCarthy, perceived to be the eventual franchise quarterback in Minnesota, went down with a preseason knee injury. Nick Mullens appears entrenched as the primary backup, with Brett Rypien behind him on the depth chart.
If Jones were to get in a game yet this year, the Vikings would likely be in trouble. But with Darnold, Mullens and Rypien all on expiring contracts, they'll need a proven veteran in 2025 to pair with McCarthy as he returns from his rehab. Unlikely to get any starter-level contract offers next spring, Jones could fit that role well, even if he wasn't ready to address his future in an interview with reporters.
“You’re really doing two things at once: You’re building a longer-term kind of foundation, but at the same time keeping a mindset on — if Daniel’s called upon to play, we want to make sure we’re not wasting time — on the present,” O'Connell said.
The onboarding process for Jones comes with plenty of homework.
“These guys are game-planning, focusing on winning, so I don’t want to slow anything down with that,” Jones said. “It’s on me to catch up, to take the time outside of meetings, outside of practice, to learn it.”
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FILE - New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes the ball against the Washington Commanders during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers used giveaways and big discounts to reward U.S. shoppers who ventured out for Black Friday even as earlier offers, the prospect of better bargains in the days ahead and the ease of e-commerce drained much of the excitement from the holiday shopping season's much-hyped kickoff.
Frequent deals throughout the month and more awaiting on Cyber Monday gave consumers less of a reason to squabble over store shelves while trying to get their hands on TVs or toys. But shopping malls and merchants big and small used the day after Thanksgiving to entice customers into physical stores at a time when many prefer to browse and buy online.
Some Target shoppers lined up as early as 11:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day to get their hands on an exclusive book devoted to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and a bonus edition of her “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” album. Although both will be available purchase online starting Saturday, many locations sold out their supply of the products, the discount retailer said.
At a Target in Southfield, Michigan, a few miles north of Detroit, Marge Evans, 32, used her cellphone to take and send photos of shirts, sweaters and other apparel with Black Friday markdowns. Her shopping cart was full, but she was shopping for an upcoming cruise with her fiance, not Christmas.
“I’ll see what things are looking like the first week in January,” the 32-year-old massage therapist said. “Really, after the holidays are over is when the real deals come through. They get rid of everything.”
Industry analysts observed Black Friday shoppers displaying the same choosy, deal-driven behavior many U.S. consumers exhibited all year while adjusting prices after the period of inflation that started toward the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
At many stores, the huge crowds of Black Fridays past never returned after the pandemic. A Walmart in Germantown, Maryland, had only half of the parking spots filled on Friday morning. Some shoppers were returning items or buying groceries.
Bharatharaj Moruejsan, a 35-year-old software engineer, decided to check out Walmart's offers because he was jet-lagged after returning from a month-long family vacation to India. He scored an iPad for his 1-year-old daughter for $250, 32% off its original $370 price tag.
“That’s a good deal,” Moruejsan said.
After visiting stores and shopping centers on Long Island, Marshal Cohen, chief retail adviser at market research firm Circana, said that apart from people lining up for Target's Taylor Swift merchandise, the number of shoppers appeared typical.
“The spreading out of the holidays has created the lack of need and lack of urgency,” said Cohen, who had a 20-person team monitoring crowds nationwide. “This is going to be a long, slow tedious process” of getting shoppers to buy, he said.
Michael Brown, a partner at management consulting firm Kearney, saw no lines at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, 10 minutes before the 7 a.m. opening.
“It’s not the old Black Friday that we used to know,” he said.
Retailers that offered at least 40% off drove shoppers’ attention, according to Brown. For example, Forever 21 had 50% to 70% discounts and had lines to the stores, while H&M, which offered 30% discounts, was relatively quiet.
Enough consumers still enjoy holiday shopping in person that Black Friday nonetheless was expected to retain its crown remains the biggest day of the year for retail foot traffic in the U.S., according to retail technology company Sensormatic Solutions.
At Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan, the setting for the 1947 Christmas movie “Miracle on 34th Street,” a steady stream of shoppers early Friday found some shoes and handbags priced half-off, special occasion dresses marked down by 30%, and 60% off the store's luxury bedding brand.
Keressa Clark, 50, and her daughter Morghan, 27, who were visiting New York from Wilmington, North Carolina, arrived at 6:15 a.m.
“I am actually shocked to see so many Black Friday deals because so many things are online,” Morghan Clark said.
Karessa Clark, who works as a nurse practitioner, said President-elect Donald Trump’s pending return to the White House made her feel better about the economy. She plans to spend $2,000 this holiday season, about $500 more than a year ago.
Julie Rambo, a retired school teacher, shoved aside her worries about the incoming Trump administration as she shopped with her grandchildren at the Target in Southfield, Michigan.
Rambo, 74, said she was “totally, completely scared of tariffs because I’m still going to need an automobile,” but it was a problem to confront later. As she does each year, she was primarily looking for Christmas gifts through a prison ministry for children with parents who are incarcerated.
“As we’re shopping, we find things for ourselves too,” Rambo said.
Online sales figures from Thanksgiving Day gave retailers a reason to remain hopeful for a lucrative end to the year.
Vivek Pandya, the lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said consumers spent a record $6.1 billion online Thursday, 8.8% more than on Thanksgiving last year. Bigger-than-expected discounts helped spur spending on electronics, apparel and other categories, Pandya said.
Across the board, Black Friday weekend discounts should peak at 30% on Cyber Monday and then retreat to around 15%, according to Adobe’s research.
Analysts forecast a solid holiday shopping season overall in the U.S., though perhaps not as robust as last year. Retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there are five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.
Shoppers at Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie, Louisiana, were treated to a glass of champagne and a $50 gift receipt.
“This is a nice touch. I was just talking to my best friend and rehashing over Thanksgiving so this was a nice little treat after that conversation. Everyone needs a little drink,” said Faren Kennedy, a Houston resident who was in town visiting family and wanted to stop at the mall for the nostalgia of Black Friday shopping.
At Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, some 13,000 people showed up the first hour of its 7 a.m. opening, roughly 1,000 more than a year ago, according to Jill Renslow, the mall’s chief business development and marketing officer.
The mall was on target to exceed the 200,000 Black Friday customer visits it received in 2023, Renslow said. Stores with deep discounts and promotions were the most packed, she said, citing Lego’s giveaway of a free retro record player with a $250 purchase.
Stephen Lebovitz, CEO of CBL Properties, which operates 85 shopping properties, and Bill Taubman, president and chief operating officer of upscale mall landlord Taubman Realty Group, also said customer visits were up.
Black Friday no longer is an American-only sales event. Retailers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. also appealed to holiday shoppers looking to save money.
In India, about 200 Amazon warehouse workers and delivery drivers, rallied Friday in New Delhi, some wearing masks of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, to demand better wages and working conditions. Similar protests were planned in other countries.
Hadero reported from Germantown, Maryland. Stephen Smith in New Orleans and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this story.
Shoppers take advantage of Black Friday deals in Montreal on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)
A large advertisement for Prada stands as shoppers walk along Fifth Avenue, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
A group of shoppers take a selfie outside Macy's Herald Square, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
A shopper holds multiple bags while outside Macy's Herald Square, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Shoppers take photos outside Macy's Herald Square, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Shoppers manage their bags as they enter a Subway turnstile, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Shoppers take advantage of Black Friday deals in Montreal on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)
A Sport Expert's employee walks past a sign advertising Black Friday sales in Montreal on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)
Shoppers walk along Fifth Avenue, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Shoppers walk along Fifth Avenue, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
People carry shopping bags as they walk along Fifth Avenue, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
A participant wears a paper mask in the likeness of Amazon's Jeff Bezos as warehouse workers and delivery drivers stage a protest against the Seattle-based company demanding higher wages and better working conditions, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Early Black Friday shoppers line up outside stores at Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
To mark the Black Friday discount day, around 400 to 500 Amazon employees from Germany joined colleagues from the USA, Sweden, the UK and Italy at the international protest center in Bad Hersfeld,Germany, and took part in the central strike meeting in the Schilde Hall, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Christian Lademann/dpa via AP)
An early Black Friday shopper uses a smartphone flashlight to locate a store at Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Early Black Friday shoppers are silhouetted as they wait in line to enter a store at Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Early Black Friday shoppers line up outside stores at Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
An aerial view shows a packed parking lot at Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, as early Black Friday shoppers arrive at the mall. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A woman walks a dog in a street of Mayfair at sunrise, in London, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
People walk by sale signs on the shopping street in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A shopper passes a store advertising a Black Friday Sale on Regent Street in London, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
People window shop in Bryant Park's Winter Village, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A shopper looks at handbags at Macy's department store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
FILE - Shoppers and others walk down a crowded sidewalk on Black Friday in the Soho neighborhood of New York, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie, File)
Items on sale for $5 are displayed at a Five Below store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
Items on sale for Black Friday are displayed at Macy's department store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
Shoppers pass a Christmas tree at the Bergdorf Goodman store on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)
A sign promoting Black Friday deals sits on table with a display of mirrorless cameras in a Best Buy store Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in south Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
