EAGAN, Minn. — Daniel Jones has quite a bit to learn on a short timeline, but he said his goals on his first day as a Viking are to help out "any way I can."

Jones joined Minnesota's practice squad Friday in time to hit the field in a red no-contact No. 13 jersey. He spoke with members of the media after the session and explained his decision to join the Vikings practice squad instead of an active roster elsewhere.

"I think you look at offensively, what they've been able to do, I think the system Coach [Kevin] O'Connell, his staff, just a lot of good things happening across the board, as a team, as an organization, but on offense, especially so," Jones said. "Just excited to join that and help out wherever I can."

O'Connell spoke with Jones between the quarterback becoming a free agent and choosing Minnesota.

"He played the position in the league and has a lot of experience as a coach. I got to know him through the draft a little bit when he was in Washington, so that was cool," Jones said. "His system's been successful. He knows quarterback play, knows how to build the quarterback environment. And I think just being a part of that and learning from him and his whole staff was a great opportunity."

The sixth overall draft pick in 2019, Jones has spent the past six-plus seasons with the New York Giants, who released him on Nov. 22. He started 10 games this season and was 216-of-341 passing for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions with a 79.4 passer rating.

Over 70 regular-season games (69 starts) with the Giants, Jones was 1,437-of-2,241 passing for 14,582 yards, 70 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. He accumulated an 84.3 passer rating.

Jones set multiple Giants franchise records in 2019, including most passing yards by a rookie (3,027), most passing touchdowns by a rookie (24) and best passer rating for a rookie season (87.7). In 2020, he set a team record for longest quarterback run when he took the pigskin 80 yards against the Eagles in Week 10.

Here are five things to know about the Vikings new QB:

1. Former Blue Devil

Jones played collegiately for Duke, where he was a three-year letterman (2016-18) and served as a team captain his final two seasons.

The quarterback was a two-time recipient of the Carmen Falcone Award as Duke's Most Valuable Player and was a three-time Academic All-ACC selection. As a junior in 2017, Jones was named the Quick Lane Bowl MVP after setting the game's record for pass completions (27) and helping lead a Blue Devils offense that set Quick Lane Bowl team records for total offensive plays (92) and time of possession (38:21).

Jones initially committed to Princeton University but opted instead to be a walk-on at Duke.

2. North Carolina native

Jones grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and played quarterback at Charlotte Latin School. During his high school career, he racked up 6,997 passing yards and 98 touchdowns.

(Fun fact: Jones shares an alma mater with crime fiction author A.J. Finn, who penned The Woman in the Window, one of this Vikings writer's favorite novels.)

3. Connection with Eli Manning

Jones took over Eli Manning's starting position as a rookie, but there isn't any bad blood between the two of them. In fact, their connection dates back long before Jones started his NFL career.

Though Manning and Jones went to different colleges, they played under the same head coach: David Cutcliffe.

Cutcliffe coached Peyton Manning as Tennessee's offensive coordinator, then served as the head coach at Mississippi from 1998-2004, during which he coached Eli Manning before he was drafted first overall in 2005. After a short stint back in Tennessee, Cutcliffe was hired in 2008 as Duke's head coach, a position he held through Jones' collegiate career.

Because of his connection with Cutcliffe, Jones also was able to build a relationship with – and learn from – the Manning brothers.

4. Mental health advocate

Jones has been a supporter through the NFL's My Cause My Cleats campaign of Mission 34, a nonprofit seeking to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness through awareness, education and ambassadors.

Mission 34 was founded in memory and honor of Sean P. Bonner, Jr., who died by suicide at the age of 20. Jones and Bonner overlapped as classmates at Charlotte Latin School.

5. Comes from an athletic family

Jones isn't the only athlete in his family; his three siblings also played collegiately at D-I sports.

Jones' older sister Rebecca played field hockey at Davidson, his younger brother Bates played basketball at Duke (after transferring from Davidson) and his younger sister Ruthie played soccer at Duke.