The Daniel Jones era is over. Giants bench QB who could never find his place in New York
Daniel Jones left with nothing but open field in front of him during a 2020 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The deceptive speed that has made the New York Giants quarterback an effective runner allowed him to increase the distance from pursuing defenders. As Jones approached the goal line for an 88-yard touchdown, he inexplicably stumbled.
As a national audience watched “Thursday Night Football,” Jones began to lose his footing on Philadelphia’s 30-yard line. He fell to the ground and was tackled by an Eagles defender on the 8-yard line, to the disbelief of everyone watching.
Since Jones’ benching marked the end of his six-year run as the Giants’ starting quarterback, that game perfectly summed up his tenure. A glimmer of promise, but ultimately a disappointing result.
DANIEL JONES. 80-YARD RUN.
📺: #NYGvsPHI on NFLN/FOX/PRIME VIDEO
📱: pic.twitter.com/zI1GumCyn0—NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2020
The unofficial end to Jones’ reign came Monday when a source confirmed a report NFL Network Report that Jones is on the bench. This move was inevitable after the Giants’ embarrassing 20–17 overtime loss to the Panthers in Germany in Week 10. Jones’ poor play was a major reason why the Giants could not score against the NFL’s worst defense.
With the 2-8 Giants in their bye week, this was the logical time for a quarterback change to give backup Tommy DeVito – who was chosen over No. 2 QB Drew Lock – time to prepare to take over . The Giants went 3-13 in games started by Jones the past two seasons, and rank last in the league in scoring this season. His career record is 24-44-1.
The official end of Jones’ time with the Giants will come sometime after this season, when the team releases him two years into the four-year, $160 million extension he signed in 2023. Jones, 27, will look to revive his career in a new guise. setting, while the Giants will seriously look for a replacement this season.
Giants fans booed after the team drafted Jones with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. (Michael Wade / Icon Sportswire)
Boos rained down at the draft party hosted by the Giants at MetLife Stadium when Jones was announced as the sixth pick in the 2019 draft. Factors beyond Jones’ control led to the chilly greeting from the fan base.
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There was little confidence in then-general manager Dave Gettleman, with many believing it was an attempt to take Jones with a top 10 pick after compiling a 17-19 record at Duke. But Jones won over fans, teammates and the rest of the organization in Week 3 of his rookie season when he replaced franchise icon Eli Manning as the starting quarterback.
Jones sparked an 18-point second-half comeback in Tampa Bay, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for two more, including the game winner with 1:16 left. But the swagger Jones showed in his debut was fleeting.
With a woeful supporting cast around Jones, the Giants lost nine straight games during his rookie season. Still, he demonstrated playmaking ability under coach Pat Shurmur as he threw 24 touchdown passes, which remains the high of his career by a wide margin.
Shurmur was fired after Jones’ rookie season and replaced by Joe Judge. He and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett focused on eliminating Jones’ ball security issues after he committed an NFL-high 19 fumbles as a rookie. In doing so, they eliminated the young quarterback’s aggressiveness.
Jones cut back on his turnovers at the expense of throwing the ball downfield. He combined for 21 touchdown passes in two seasons under Judge and Garrett. The second season was cut short due to a neck injury that sidelined Jones for the final six games in 2021.
The coaching changes, a consistently poor offensive line and a lack of playmakers led Giants co-owner John Mara to proclaim after the 2021 season, “We did everything we could to screw this kid up.”
Jones got a clean slate when Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll replaced Gettleman and Judge, respectively, after the 2021 season. One of the first major decisions of the new regime was declining Jones’ fifth-year option for the 2023 season, making the 2022 season a proving year for Jones.
He rose to the occasion. Jones used his legs more than ever, crafting an efficient offense that relied on running back Saquon Barkley and opportunistic passing.
Jones still only threw for 15 touchdowns, but he added seven more rushing to lead the Giants to a surprising 9-7-1 record and their first playoff appearance in six years. Once in the postseason, Jones elevated his play to an unthinkable level in a 31-24 wild card round win at Minnesota.
The action was seen as vindication Mara, who declared: “We’re back,” in the victorious locker room. A week later, the mood was much gloomier as the Giants were trounced 38-7 by the Eagles in the divisional round.
Despite the bitter end to the season, optimism about Jones within the organization was rampant. Schoen confirmed that Jones, who would become an unrestricted free agent, would be back with the Giants in his season-ending press conference days after the loss to the Eagles.
That wasn’t an easy process, as Schoen tried to negotiate with Jones and Barkley at the same time during the 2023 offseason. When Barkley was unreceptive to the Giants’ initial extension offers, Schoen turned his attention to Jones.
Without forgetting the small fifth-year option, which would have set Jones at $22.4 million through 2023, the quarterback made a hard bargain at the negotiating table. With talks approaching the franchise tag deadline, the Giants and Jones agreed to a four-year, $160 million extension. The Giants immediately moved to tap Barkley minutes before the deadline.
If there is one decision Schoen could make again in his three years, it is this. Instead of giving in to Barkley with a contract worth about $25 million guaranteed, Schoen ended up guaranteeing $82 million to Jones. However, Schoen kept in mind that an escape hatch could be maintained so the Giants can cut Jones after two seasons while eating a manageable $22.2 million in dead money on the salary cap.
The biggest fears of committing to Jones were immediately realized during a disastrous 2023 season. Jones went 1-5 in six starts while suffering a second neck injury that sidelined him for three games before a torn ACL in his right knee ended his season in week 9 ended.
With buyer’s remorse established, Schoen and Daboll conducted an extensive search in the 2024 draft for a possible replacement. The problem was that the Giants finished sixth and the teams with the top three picks were in dire need of quarterbacks.
Schoen unsuccessfully tried to trade to the Patriots for the third pick, but New England acquired North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. With Maye, USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels off the board, the Giants opted not to take a quarterback.
It was the fifth consecutive draft since Jones was selected that the Giants had not added a quarterback. Instead, they used the sixth pick on LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers in hopes the dynamic playmaker could help unlock Jones in another make-or-break year.
Nabers has shown his talent, but it has made no difference. Jones has not been able to lead a high-octane offense.
The breaking point came in Munich. Jones threw two interceptions in the red zone to kill scoring drives. His most egregious play, however, was taking a flea flick despite Nabers and wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. running wide open during trick play.
There is a financial incentive to leave Jones, who has earned $108 million in his career, because he has a $23 million injury guarantee in his contract. If he suffers a major injury that prevents him from taking a physical exam in mid-March, the Giants will be on the hook for $12 million. Another $11 million would be guaranteed at the start of next season. The savings from cutting Jones this offseason would be negated if the injury guarantee were to kick in.
The injury guarantee is a valid reason to bench Jones, especially since he has repeatedly rammed himself into defenders this season. But finances aside, the Giants simply couldn’t pull off Jones again in front of a hostile home crowd that has seen the team lose all five games at MetLife Stadium this season.
The Giants can no longer afford to take the financial risk of playing Jones. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
No one ever questioned Jones’s intangibles. He is tough, hardworking and an exemplary teammate.
Jones is cut from the same cloth as Manning, and has the same personal quarterback trainer and college coach. But despite all the similarities between the quarterbacks, Jones lacks the qualities that made Manning one of the best quarterbacks of his era.
Jones seemed too determined to copy Manning’s ability to sidestep controversy in the New York media market. Perhaps being so tightly wound can explain why Jones performed so much worse at home: 29 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in 35 career home games, compared to 41 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 35 career road games.
The Giants scored three touchdowns after Jones’ meme-worthy stumble four years ago, and they were in position for a rare Philadelphia victory late in the game when he completed a pass to tight end Evan Engram. A catch could have sealed the victory; instead, the perfect pass slipped through Engram’s fingertips.
Jones’ stumble and Engram’s fall were representative of this forgettable six-year period. The failures were not all Jones’ fault, but he was also unable to overcome the circumstances around him.
So Jones’ time is up in New York. The Giants are now on the clock to do well on their next swing at quarterback.
(Photo illustrations: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletics; top photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
