The New York Giants have put all their eggs in one basket… well kind of.
After a successful 2022 campaign, the Giants rewarded Daniel Jones with a four-year, $160 million contract extension. Even though the contract includes three more years, there’s one year of guaranteed money left, meaning it could be easier than it seems to move on from the 26-year-old if this season goes poorly.
The move raised eye brows at the time and looks even worse now. While he was efficient in 2022, Jones didn’t exactly light up the stat sheet in an offense that was run-heavy and capitalized on play-action opportunities after establishing a solid run attack early in games. Jones finished that year with an impressive 3,202 passing yards with just 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Still, the New York Giants felt like they saw enough to pull out the check book and lock him in as their fr
To put it in perspective, Patrick Mahomes threw for 5,250 yards, 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in the same season.
Jones regressed in a major way in 2023. In the 6 games that he played he threw for 909 yards, just two touchdowns and 6 interceptions with a QBR of 36.3. His efforts — or lack thereof — led the Giants to a dismal (1-5) record to start the year, with the only win coming over the Arizona Cardinals, who were among one of the worst teams in the league.
Despite raising major questions in the front office and even getting benched in a September 40-0 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys, he remained the New York Giants starting QB. He was then sidelined in Week 6 with a neck injury — which kept him out a few weeks — and when he returned in Week 9 he tore his ACL and was ruled out for the season.
A mix of Tyrod Taylor and rookie Tommy DeVito closed out the 2023 campaign for the Giants and the team played much better without Jones under center. After starting out (1-5) with him as the starting QB, they finished with a (5-6) record in his absence.
So just one year removed from a massive contract extension, the Giants brass had major questions about Jones’ ability to thrive as the team’s franchise QB and openly inquired about finding a replacement for him this offseason. Ultimately they didn’t make a significant move to bring in a new franchise QB, but did sign veteran Drew Lock who has started plenty of NFL games and is currently taking first team reps as Jones continues to rehab from last year’s injury.
New York Giants Coach Brian Daboll Gives Concerning Update On Daniel Jones
On Thursday, Giants head coach Brian Daboll met with the media after voluntary workouts and was asked about Jones’ progress as he returns from injury.
After asked by reporters about how Jones looked in the limited individual drills and 7-on-7 work he’s participated in, the Giants head coach gave an optimistic answer, but it was immediately followed up with comments that should have concerns about whether Daniel Jones will truly be healthy for the season.
“It was good, you know we are not putting him in some team stuff, but he’s making progress, so that’s why we got him in some seven on seven,” the New York Giants front man said.
A reporter then followed up, noting Jones has always said he would be ready for the start of training camp and asked Daboll if he was confident if that was still the case, but the Giants coach sounded all but confident to say the least.
“We will take it day by day, and if he can do more he will do more,” he said.
With his financial reality and the New York Giants’ approach to the 2024 Draft, Jones knows there’s a vision beyond him. He declined to confirm that he still feels the Giants are committed to him for the long term.
“Ummmm, yeah, I mean, I feel good about where we’re going,” Jones said when asked. “I feel good about this team.
“My job is to get healthy and play good football.”
It certainly feels like there are more questions about the Giants starting QB for 2024 than answers at this point.