Daniel Jones ‘grateful’ for opportunity as Giants starting QB in first comments since benching

Giants head coach Brian Daboll’s decision to bench Jones came as no surprise. Mired in a 2-8 campaign with an offense ranked last in the NFL in scoring (15.6 points per game), the writing was on the wall for Jones. However, the huge $160 million contract he was playing under could have forced the team’s fateful decision to drag out longer than most comparable situations.

Daboll finally decided to make the change during the team’s bye week and after a disappointing Week 10 performance from Jones, whose persistent struggles in the passing game resulted in a two-win overtime loss to the Panthers on a big stage in Munich.

Jones, who threw two interceptions and zero touchdowns in the loss, admitted there was a looming sense of concern when asked if he was surprised by his benching.

“It might be in the back of my mind a little bit, but I was still kind of focused on what I needed to do to prepare and play that game,” Jones said. “Obviously after the game you’re just disappointed and you go through what happened.”

The biggest surprise in Jones’ demotion was the QB depth chart Daboll released Tuesday. Tommy DeVito — not veteran Drew Lock, who was waived in the offseason to back up Jones — was named the Giants’ starter. Jones is slated to step up as the third stringer with Lock remaining as the team’s primary backup. The Giants have also since added a QB to the cap, signing Tim Boyle to the practice squad.

During Thursday’s practice, Jones was seen completely out of the QB picture at one point, spending part of the open portion wearing a red scout team jersey while lining up at safety during an offensive setup period, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.

It was a clear sign that New York was beginning its transition out of the Jones era. When asked if he plans to be with the Giants for the rest of this season, Jones maintained that while he deals with that scenario, he wants to be helpful to DeVito as the second-year QB prepares for his seventh career start on Sunday against the Buccaneers.

“I think I’m still processing and for now I’m doing the best I can to help Tommy prepare, help the team prepare,” Jones said. “That’s what I want to do right now. So process it. I think obviously a decision was made and (I’m) not playing. So I think that’s what it was framed as.”