Daniel Jones‘ benching will ensure he does not suffer an injury late in the season. The Giants are moving forward with Tommy DeVito under center, but they are also adding further depth at the quarterback spot. 
New York is adding Tim Boyle on a practice squad deal, Art Stapleton of NJ.com reports. Boyle was among the players who worked out for the team on Tuesday, and he will now give the Giants an insurance option at the position. Drew Lock will serve as DeVito’s backup, an indication that not triggering Jones’ 2025 injury guarantee was a central factor in the decision to bench the former No. 6 pick.
This move is another sign Jones will not see the field again in 2024 even if DeVito and/or Lock suffer injuries. Boyle has made 22 appearances and five starts during his NFL tenure, one which has spanned five teams. His most recent action came earlier this year with the Dolphins while Tua Tagovailoa was injured, but his last two starts came in 2023 with the Jets. The 30-year-old sports a record of 0-5 and has thrown just four touchdown passes compared to 12 interceptions.
The Giants’ taxi squad moves also include a deal for Tyre Phillips. The fifth-year offensive lineman is re-joining the team, per Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz. Phillips played for New York in 2022 and ’23, but his campaign came to an abrupt end last year due to a torn quad. Now that he is healthy, the 27-year-old has managed to land another Giants pact for the second half of the season. Like the Boyle addition, the Philips signing has since been announced by the team.
The offensive tackle spot has been an issue for New York, with Andrew Thomas suffering a season-ending foot injury last month. On the right side, a number of options have received a look, including 2022 first-rounder Evan Neal. Phillips has some experience on the blindside, but he has primarily played at right tackle in his career; if he finds himself on the active roster, he could represent a depth contributor at RT.
Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports linebacker Curtis Bolton is being released from the Giants’ practice squad in a corresponding move. He has made 29 appearances in the NFL, including one this season for New York during which he handled a notable special teams workload. Bolton’s third phase abilities will likely be targeted by his next team.
Willing to bet that the signing of Tim Boyle keeps Danny Jones off even the practice squad. According to OTC, right now the Giants 2025 effective cap* space is $23 Million, the same as a Danny Jones injury pay out.
*Effective Cap Space: the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster.
It’s virtually impossible to just stash Daniel Jones on the practice squad. They would have to waive him first, which would move next year’s salary cap hit to this year, & I just read earlier that they’ll take an $11.5 million dead cap hit waiving him next year. I doubt he’d agree to become a practice squad QB after making $40 million, he’d go elsewhere & be a backup first, or maybe just retire like Titans QB Jake Locker, who didn’t want to relocate & take less money to be a backup.
Jones will be married to the clipboard the rest of the season even if he’s activated as QB3, and will get into a game as much as you or I could. No one’s going to trade for him even for a late rounder with that salary, he’ll just be waiting to be cut.
What will it say about how bad Jones is if DeVito comes in and throws for 300 yards (which Jones has not done this season, did once last season and twice two seasons ago) and/or 3 touchdowns in a game (which Jones hasn’t done since his ROOKIE YEAR)? Jones’ #’s aren’t a whole lot better than Danny Kanell (4th rounder) or Kent Graham (8th rounder) who played in the 90s!
Makes sense. If Tommy DeVito doesn’t play badly enough for tanking purposes, they can bring in Boyle.
It’s pretty obvious since they moved Danny DeVito ahead of Drew Lock. The latter may have won a game or two…