Benched Daniel Jones could leave before NY Giants season ends

On November 22, 2024By Littum

EAST RUTHERFORD – Daniel Jones spoke for nearly 11 minutes after practice Thursday afternoon, expressing gratitude for the time he spent as quarterback in New York Giants.

In his first public comments since the Giants decided to give him the job he’s held for six years, an emotional Jones vowed to be a good teammate and support Tommy DeVito, who was named the starter for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 7 p.m. MetLife Stadium.

That promise came with a catch, of course, as Jones left the door open to his future, both immediately and next season, hinting he’s “still processing” whether he’ll remain here in a backup role after being sidelined for performance and to avoid the risk of triggering a $23 million damage guarantee.

Jones could request his release, which the Giants are unlikely to grant. The team could just send the 27-year-old home for the rest of the season, allowing him to pick up the rest of his contract away from 1925 Giants Drive, given that it’s owed to him no matter what happens next.

“There have been some great times, but of course we all wish there had been more of them. I take full responsibility for my part in not bringing more wins,” Jones said in his pre-recorded opening statement, which lasted 1: 30. “No one wanted to win more games more than me and I gave everything I had on the pitch and in my preparation. Of course this season has been disappointing for everyone and of course I wish I could have done more. I is 100% responsible for my part, I didn’t play well enough, consistently enough to help the team get the results.

The Giants needed Jones to be much better, and there is uncertainty that he is able to do that for the rest of this season, regardless of the pieces around him. He has skipped throws at the feet of receivers at key points. He has double-clutched far too many times. His accuracy has been spotty, especially on deep balls.

It’s all critics say defines Jones’ game and why the Giants finally called it quits on their bye week Monday.

The biggest fear going into this season for the Giants was this: What if there was nothing left to fix with Jones as a starting NFL quarterback, let alone the leader of an offense whose playmakers are now more explosive, if offensive line no longer sold was it last year?

From Week 1, Jones looked like a player who doesn’t believe what he sees on the field, and like it or not, that look hasn’t gone away. He’s not the only reason coach Brian Daboll and the Giants are where they are, the latest setback coming to Carolina in Germany served as the final dagger heading into the bye week.

The truth is, that’s the most glaring reason why this entire operation, spearheaded by Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, feels like it’s not moving quickly past the midpoint of Year 3.

During the media viewing window for Thursday’s practice, Jones participated in individual drills, taking reps behind DeVito, Drew Lock and practice squad QB Tim Boyle. As DeVito and Lock walked the wide receivers and tight ends to one end zone for 1-on-1 drills, Jones threw himself into the back in their 1-on-1 drills between the running backs and linebackers.

At one point, with the offense set up in the far corner of the fieldhouse, Jones was lined up at the scout team safety in what appeared to be an installation period. This was not live action and appeared to be a walkthrough, with Jones playing a role that other offensive players — mostly reserves and the practice squad — and sometimes assistant coaches and staff do every day in practice.

However, quarterbacks who have started 69 games, including the first 10 this season, are not typically safeties on the scout team.

“Well, I have the damage guarantee, so that’s it,” Jones said. “I get it. They don’t want to take any risks. So yeah, at that point it’s just: Do as you’re told.”

The Giants have spent Daboll’s entire tenure trying to put Jones in a position to succeed based on their hopes of what he could be if they built the offensive line, gave him weapons, kept playmakers healthy and called the right plays the right time.

Jones hasn’t made plays to win games, and when he does, he often follows it up by making the wrong ones. The plays are there, though the Giants’ 32nd-ranked scoring offense belies that point.

Circumstances have seemingly stripped Jones of the swagger and confidence he played with at the end of the 2022 season when he went to Minnesota and bludgeoned the 13-win Vikings into the playoffs.

Jones posted career highs in passing yards (3,205), completion percentage (67.2%) and passer rating (92.5) while rushing for 708 yards during the 2022 season, Daboll’s first. Although the Giants were crushed in Philadelphia and ended the season in the divisional round, the arrow certainly seemed to be pointing up.

In retrospect, the Giants bought a bit of fool’s gold across the board, as Schoen admitted last week when asked by NorthJersey.com at his bye week news conference.

“I’ve thought about it a lot, and there’s probably some truth to that,” Schoen said. “You come off a winning season, maybe some of the issues were masked or you’re a little blinded by it because of the success. So when we extended Daniel, you try to speed it up because the way the contract was structured. You got to make mistakes, I wish I got into this job and I didn’t make any mistakes.”

Under that contract, Jones essentially played on a two-year deal worth $82 million guaranteed. And since Jones signed that deal, the Giants have won just three of the 16 games he has started. He missed three games with a neck injury last year — after missing the final six games of the 2021 season with another neck injury — and then tore his ACL in his return

The Giants will gain $19.395 million of 2025 salary cap space by releasing a healthy Jones before March 16 of next year without using a post-1. June designation. There would be $22 million in dead money, a cap fee for a player no longer on the roster from guaranteed money already paid out.

“The reality of the NFL is that winning games is difficult and requires consistent performance from everyone involved,” Jones said. “We didn’t do well enough, so the idea of changing something happens and I understand. I love the game, I love being part of a team and I’m excited for the next opportunity. I know there are many good football ahead of me and I’m looking forward to that.”

What is clear, and Jones left little doubt about it Thursday: it will no longer be with the New York Giants.