When the New York Giants signed Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal this offseason, it was supposed to end any talk about the team’s future at the quarterback position. Jones was the future. Not anymore. The topic is wide open again with the Giants’ season skidding off the rails as they enter Week 10 at 2-7 and hurtling toward a top-5 draft pick. In fact, according to Austin Mock’s projections, the Giants own the best odds of securing the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Further complicating the issue is Jones, out for the season after tearing his ACL during Sunday’s 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
With Jones out and the prospect of the Giants heading toward a draft pick that could net them a coveted quarterback prospect, the debate over the future of the position has taken on new life. How the Giants finish the season will largely dictate their options, but until then, we break down the pros and cons of retaining Jones. Doesn’t he deserve another shot?
In January 2022, after hiring Joe Schoen as the team’s new general manager, co-owner John Mara didn’t mince words about Jones’ tenure with the team. “We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up.” He’s not wrong. A book could probably be written on the subject, but suffice it to say in his five years since being the No. 6 pick of the 2019 draft, Jones has played under three head coaches and four offensive coordinators while having limited weaponry and playing behind a typically suspect offensive line. Put simply, Jones has hardly gotten a fair shake. Giants ownership knew it then and knows it now. When they (literally) signed off on extending Jones, it was with the hope he’d be the team’s quarterback through the length of the deal. In fact, before the contract extension was finalized this spring, Mara spoke with Jones, emphasizing how much they wanted him in New York. Mara also stressed that under NFL Coach of the Year Brian Daboll, the team would finally be able to provide him the continuity he had never enjoyed during his first four seasons. They added weaponry and tried to upgrade the offensive line. Unfortunately for Jones and the Giants, Year 5 of his career has been a disaster. The offensive line was a mess from the start, as Jones was sacked 28 times in the first five games, with the last one leading to a significant neck injury that forced him to miss three games. Then, in his return game from that injury, he tore his ACL. Given that he only played in six games after signing the extension, there is at least some merit to the idea that he deserves one more chance to prove he can take this franchise where it wants to go. His supporting cast should be better, too, with the Giants either spending their top pick on a difference-maker (Marvin Harrison Jr.?) or trading back with a QB-needy team for a treasure trove of picks Schoen can use to surround Jones with more talent.
Locker room favorite Jones is beloved by his teammates. They sing his praises, highlighting his toughness — they love that he’ll always fight for extra yards — accountability and leadership. They respect him, and he shows them that same respect. Needless to say, the locker room was devastated by the news of Jones’ latest injury.
One of Jones’ biggest supporters, wide receiver Darius Slayton, was asked about the idea of the quarterback being replaced and the Giants moving on from him. “You can’t control what people say,” Slayton said. “Quite frankly, people have been trying to get myself and him and multiple others out of here since we’ve been here. That hasn’t stopped us before, and it won’t stop us now. Like I said earlier, he’s a resilient human being. He’s a good football player, and at the end of the day, he’ll be back healthy again one day and he’ll be back playing pro football somewhere, hopefully here, and I look forward to that day.”
How the Giants’ unexpected success last season is coming back to haunt them The clutch gene There haven’t been many opportunities in his career, but Jones has risen to the occasion in big moments for the franchise. He also didn’t buckle under the pressure of having to play for his job last season. Remember, the Giants elected not to pick up Jones’ fifth year-option ahead of last year, making 2022 a full-season audition. Jones responded by leading the Giants to their first playoff appearance since 2016 and their first playoff victory in 11 years. In that wild-card win over the Minnesota Vikings in January, Jones played perhaps his best game, becoming the first quarterback in league postseason history with 300-plus passing yards (301 yards on 24-of-35 passing), two passing touchdowns and 70-plus rushing yards (78). Though things didn’t go as well the following week in Philadelphia, there’s little doubt his performance against the Vikings was a big reason the Giants decided to extend him this offseason. Cons of keeping Jones The injury history and underwhelming production One of the more unfortunate aspects of Jones’ career in New York has been his lack of durability due to a multitude of injuries. He missed games his rookie season with an ankle sprain, and he was hampered by hamstring injuries the next season.
