Vikings’ quarterback plans grow vague with Daniel Jones added to the roster

Daniel Jones is available to be the Vikings' backup quarterback Monday against the Los Angeles Rams. Coach Kevin O’Connell would not say Thursday whether Jones will be given that role over Nick Mullens.

The Vikings’ quarterback depth chart is “fluid,” O’Connell said.

Jones, a former Giants starter who signed with the Vikings practice squad in November, was signed to the active roster this week.

“He definitely has progressed,” O’Connell said. “He’s gotten a lot of really good work in both running scout team works and extra work here and there. ... The best way I can put it is, we’re doing everything we can to get Sam [Darnold] ready to go, but ... it’s such a fluid thing here for the rest of the way. We’re going to do whatever we think gives us the best chance to win.”

The Vikings re-signed quarterback Brett Rypien to the practice squad Thursday, two days after he was waived to make room for Jones. The team also signed offensive tackle Trevor Reid to the practice squad. Reid, a second-year undrafted blocker out of Louisville, most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores said Tuesday he and his players better trust the defenders on the field after some second-half breakdowns catapulted Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs into a 139-yard, three-touchdown evening in Detroit.

“There were a lot of positive moments,” Flores said, “but against a player like that, it only takes one, two, three plays. ... Those become the plays in the game that are significant. That was a lot of the message [Monday]. In these types of games, trust is a big part of it. And handling your responsibility is a big part of it. Can’t have situations where one guy is out of his gap or somebody’s uncertain that that guy’s going to be in his gap, so he takes that gap, and then it kind of snowballs.”

Defensive tackle Jalen Redmond and edge rusher Dallas Turner were among the lowest-graded run defenders by Pro Football Focus. And Bynum had a team-worst three missed tackles, including Gibbs’ 25-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. It was the most misses he had in a game all season.

“He’s one of the best backs in the league, but I pride myself on being able to make tackles like that one-on-one coming from the deep part of the field,” Bynum said. “That’s one of those situations where I have to be better.”

Edge rusher Pat Jones II (knee) was the only player held out of Thursday’s practice. Jones has yet to return since taking a low block from Packers tight end Tucker Kraft in the Dec. 29 win. Running back Aaron Jones was limited by his lingering quad injury.

Defensive tackle Taki Taimani, an undrafted rookie out of Oregon, returned to practice Thursday for the first time since he was placed on injured reserve Nov. 2 because of an ankle injury.

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