The New York Giants have, unsurprisingly, already decided on the future of struggling quarterback Daniel Jones.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll has yet to announce who will start between Daniel Jones and Drew Lock for Sunday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Regardless, it appears that the “Danny Dimes” era is on its last legs.
According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the Giants will release Jones after the 2024 season. Duggan noted that they looked at selecting his replacement in April’s NFL Draft:
“It’s over for Jones in New York. The Giants will bench him soon and then cut ties with him at the end of the season. The Giants tried to draft his replacement this past offseason but couldn’t move up and decided against selecting the likes of Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy or Bo Nix, all of whom were still on the board when New York picked wide receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6.
Right or wrong, the Giants now have no choice but to draft a quarterback, and at the moment, they are in prime position to do it. At 2-8, New York has a great chance of landing a top-three pick in the 2025 draft.”
After a career year and helping the Giants to a playoff appearance and Wild Card Round victory over the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, Jones signed a four-year contract extension worth $160 million.
Daniel Jones lost five of six starts last season before suffering a season-ending ACL tear last year. This season, he’s 2-8 with a 63.3 completion percentage for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns, seven interceptions and four fumbles.
Fortunately for the Giants, Jones’ contract is structured in a way that they’ll be able t o cut him in the 2025 offseason with minimal financial ramifications. It’s not like the New Orleans Saints with Derek Carr or the Cleveland Browns with Deshaun Watson, where they’re stuck with a terrible QB contract for at least another year.
Daniel Jones Era Should Have Ended A Long Time Ago
It’s honestly incredible that Daniel Jones has had six seasons to try and prove himself as the Giants’ answer behind center. He had three forgettable seasons from 2019 to 2021, and yet the Giants wouldn’t give up on him.
He had one decent season in 2022, and that was enough to secure a $160 million extension. The Giants could have taken a QB in the heavy 2024 class, but they again decided to give Jones the starting duties.
Jones could follow the footsteps of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield and flourish with the right team. But it’s clearly never gonna happen in New York.
