Team news: Minnesota Vikings

Reunion: Veteran QB Drew Lock agreed to terms with the Seahawks.

One of the pieces of the Russell Wilson trade, Lock is now back for a second stint in Seattle, this time backing up Sam Darnold.

Related Players: Sam Howell, Jaren Hall

Lock will battle with Howell for No. 2 duties behind Sam Darnold, and both are pretty interesting deep stashes in Superflex Dynasty leagues, due to a decent pass-catching group that could grow even stronger through the NFL Draft.

Sam Darnold has agreed to terms with the Seahawks, per source.

The top free agent quarterback available, Darnold gets the three-year deal he sought and heads to Seattle after a career year in Minnesota.

Related Players: Sam Howell, J.J. McCarthy, Daniel Jones

Darnold gets a long(er)-term deal, but it's not the best situation fantasy-wise. With Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf out of the building, the veteran will see a downgrade both in offensive line and receiver talent from Minnesota. Looking ahead, the Seahawks will get a guy who is seven years younger, but it would be hard to argue that Geno Smith is less talented than the journeyman.

Aaron Jones is back with the Vikings, sources say, getting a 2-year, $20M deal with $13M guaranteed.

Related Players: Cam Akers, Ty Chandler, C.J. Ham

This was probably always the best landing spot for Jones, and he re-joins a Vikings team that only has four draft picks this cycle, which could absolutely mean he comfortably has his 2024 role for another season. Push him back into low-end RB2 range.

Geno Smith is being traded to Las Vegas Raiders for a third round pick, per sources.

Related Players: Aidan O'Connell, Desmond Ridder, Sam Howell

We'll see where the Seahawks end up landing, but we can presume that the answer probably isn't Sam Howell. As for the Raiders, they now have a far more consistent option to bridge the gap to their future franchise QB.

Vikings officially will not be tagging QB Sam Darnold, per sources.

Related Players: J.J. McCarthy, Nick Mullens, Daniel Jones

While this doesn't necessarily mean Darnold will not be playing in Minnesota, it does make McCarthy and even Jones more interesting at the time of this news. Potential teams Darnold could land on include the Raiders, Giants, and Jets, among others.

After losing RBs Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell to season-ending injuries, it now looks as if the 49ers will be without RB Isaac Guerendo for Sunday’s game vs. Miami. Guerendo is dealing with a hamstring injury and is unlikely to play, per source.

Related Players: Patrick Taylor, Kyle Juszczyk, Israel Abanikanda

Sheesh. We're assuming Taylor will now be the next, next man up, but they also have Abanikanda, as well as Ke'Shawn Vaughn on the practice squad. Taylor should be considered somewhere in the RB3 range if Guerendo is out.

Seahawks QB Geno Smith, who left Sunday night’s game versus Green Bay with a knee injury, was listed as a full participant in today’s practice.

Related Players: Sam Howell

Things are looking for Geno ahead of Week 16, which is a boon to the entire offense. We'll keep an eye on his status leading up to the weekend.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith suffered a knee injury in the second half of Sunday night's 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers and did not return.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters after the loss that it appeared Smith's knee was structurally OK, but the extent of the injury was unclear. Smith will undergo further evaluation on Monday.

"I'll tell you this, this guy's probably the toughest player I've been around," Macdonald said of Smith. "(It was) severe enough for him not to come back in the game. We'll do all the tests tomorrow and kind of figure it out as we go. Right now, structurally it looks like it's OK. We'll get him imaged and all that stuff."

Related players: Sam Howell

The story said Smith wanted to go back in but couldn't and would eventually give way to Howell. The Seahawks host the Vikings in Week 16 in a later Sunday game. Owners will need to monitor Smith this week. It's not great news that it was severe enough that he couldn't go back in the game, so his status for Week 16 is very much in doubt. Howell was just 5 for 14 for 24 yards and an INT. He was also sacked four times in his limited play.

Sam Darnold has played well enough to leave the Vikings more open-minded about their 2025 plans than many realize, according to sources familiar with the Vikings' thinking. They have not ruled out offering him a contract for next season, despite widespread assumptions they will let him sign elsewhere in free agency and hand the job to J.J. McCarthy, who has spent his rookie season recovering from a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Related players: Daniel Jones

The story added the Vikings have also prepared to move on from Darnold, especially if he receives a more lucrative offer from another QB-needy team. Darnold agreed to wear a modified camera on his helmet during practices and walk-throughs to help McCarthy during his recovery process, the story said. McCarthy uses the video to simulate practice reps via virtual reality. The Vikings also signed Jones, who was released by the Giants, to their practice squad last month, a move widely viewed as an early look at a potential candidate to replace Darnold next season as the veteran alongside McCarthy.

The Vikings have started the clock on getting a couple of special teamers back in the lineup.

The team announced on Tuesday that kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola have been designated for return from injured reserve.

Related players: Parker Romo

Romo has gone 11-of-12 on field goals and 7-of-8 on extra points with Reichard out of the lineup. It's not yet clear which kicker will be in action this week. The Vikings are in the early Sunday window at home against the Falcons.