Former Jaguars Backup Finds Familiar New Home

Former Jacksonville Jaguars backup quarterback John Wolford has an interesting new landing spot.

Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski, answers questions after the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 18th and final training camp practice at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. Wednesday August 20, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Some familiar roots have helped a former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback find a new home.

The Minnesota Vikings signed former Jaguars quarterback John Wolford to their practice squad on Wednesday, and there aare plenty of ties related to the Jaguars that go into the signing.

Wolford's Signing

Wolford spent training camp as the Jaguars' No. 3 quarterback before being released as a part of the final cut-down to 53 players. Wolford had past experience with new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen after stints with the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he made sense as a fit for the team's No. 3 role.

At the conclusion of training camp and the preseason, the Jaguars moved on from Wolford in favor of keeping Seth Hennigan on the practice squad. A few weeks ago, the Jaguars moved on from Hennigan to replace him with Carter Bradley on the practice squad.

Aug 17, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback John Wolford (18) warms up before a game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

With Wolford landing with the Vikings in the wake of the Carson Wentz injury, this puts Wolford in the QB3 spot with Kevin O'Connell as his head coach -- and that is where the Jaguars connections come in.

O'Connell has several ties to the Jaguars' staff. For one, O'Connell coached with Coen in Los Angeles while assistants with the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay. The overlap between the systems and the coaching tree came into the picture for the Jaguars this offseason when the Jaguars signed former Vikings backup quarterback Nick Mullens to be Trevor Lawrence's backup quarterback

The Jaguars also hired former Minnesota Vikings assistant Grant Udinski to be their offensive coordinator this offseason after he had a rapid rise under O'Connell. Now, a former student of Udinski is now with the Vikings.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback John Wolford (18) passes during the Jaguars 14th NFL training camp session at Miller Electric Center Tuesday August 12, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this Sunday in their second preseason game. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I kind of brought Grant in, believe it or not, kind of as the chief of staff three years ago. He obviously did some of those jobs, but we did a lot of football together," O'Connell said at the combine.

"I've joked that if you added up all the hours that I spent with Grant one-on-one, and then you add up all of the hours I've spent with my wife over the past three years, I'd like to think Leah O'Connell would win out, but it's gonna be probably a pretty close finish there."

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