Daniel Jones

Latest On QB Daniel Jones’ Future With Giants

September 15th, 2024 at 12:39pm CST by Rory Parks

The Giants’ attempts to trade up in this year’s draft to acquire a top quarterback prospect were clearly not a ringing endorsement of incumbent Daniel Jones, who landed a four-year, $160MM contract from the team in March 2023. The ensuing 2023 season was an injury-marred slog for Jones, who played in just six games and who threw for two touchdowns against six interceptions while posting a 1-5 record and 70.5 quarterback rating.

Owner John Mara recently indicated that he did not have buyer’s remorse over the Jones deal, noting that the Duke product’s injuries – he battled a neck ailment before a season-ending ACL tear – the team’s lack of receiving talent, and a porous O-line conspired to make 2023 a forgettable season for Jones and for Big Blue as a whole. And, while there was never any real QB controversy this summer despite speculation to the contrary, that could change if Jones does not begin to perform at a higher level.

Even if the Giants had been successful in their pursuit of a high-end collegiate signal-caller in the draft, they would have been unable to realistically get out from under Jones’ contract this year. 2025, though, is a different story, as New York can release Jones as a post-June 1 cut next year and realize cap savings of $30.5MM while incurring relatively modest dead money charges of $11.1MM in 2025 and 2026.

However, Jones’ deal also includes $23MM in injury guarantees, a sum that will become fully guaranteed if he suffers an injury and is unable to pass a physical in the offseason. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote this morning, if Jones does not play up to the 2022 standard that helped him secure his notable payday, the Giants could be put to a decision: bench Jones and protect themselves against the injury guarantee – as a number of teams have done in recent history – or continue rolling the dice with the player to whom they made such a sizeable commitment not that long ago?

Connor Hughes of SNY.tv notes that this is not just idle speculation on Schefter’s part, thereby suggesting that the team is already contemplating a Jones benching at some point in the near future (indeed, Hughes reminds us that GM Joe Schoen brought up the topic at his preseason presser, and Hughes himself said he could envision a quarterback change at halftime of the club’s Week 2 contest today if Jones does not play well).

On the other hand, Dan Duggan of The Athletic points out that head coach and offensive play-caller Brian Daboll did not act like a man who was concerned with the injury guarantee in last week’s 28-6 drubbing at the hands of the Vikings. Daboll called three power runs for Jones, and he even called timeouts to get the ball back for a garbage-time drive, during which Jones took two more hits.

Of course, Daboll is very much on the hot seat, and given that his backup QB is Drew Lock, he has every reason to try to get Jones in a rhythm. But Jones, who completed 22 of 42 passes for 186 yards and two picks in the Minnesota contest, may be running out of time to do that, with ESPN’s Jordan Raanan hearing from multiple sources that the sixth-year passer has lost confidence in himself.

Giants’ Selling Point On Daniel Jones’ 2023 Extension

August 25th, 2024 at 10:59pm CST by Ely Allen

About a year and a half ago, the Giants gave quarterback Daniel Jones a four-year, $160MM extension. While $40MM per year doesn’t sound like top-end NFL passer money right now, at the time, Jones’ new deal tied him for the honor of sixth-highest paid quarterback in the league at that time, per annual average. A recent report from Ryan Dunleavy of the NY Post provided an explanation for why New York was so willing to give Jones his bag.

Per Jones, Giants general manager Joe Schoen claimed this week that part of Jones’ agent’s sales pitch on the contract extension was that, with all the soon-to-come quarterback extensions and free agent deals around the league, Jones’ $40MM per year wouldn’t seem nearly as top dollar as it did at the time. See, when Jones signed his extension, it paired him with playoff contending quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford in contract length and overall value. The contract also came on the heels of a Derek Carr-signing for four years and $150MM.

At that point in time, Prescott was a Pro Bowler who had shown he was a threat to pass for 4,500 yards in a healthy season and nearly reached 5,000 in 2019. Stafford was pushing into his 15th season and, though he was aging, had just matched a career high with 41 touchdown passes in 2021. Carr didn’t quite have the winning pedigree or statistical production of Prescott or Stafford, but he still threatened for 4,000 passing yards every season, topping out at 4,804 in 2021, and was a three-time Pro Bowler.

Daniel Jones had accomplished none of the above feats. He hadn’t made a Pro Bowl or sniffed a 4,000-yard or 30-touchdown season. He held career highs of 3,205 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. Since his rookie season, he had failed to surpass 15 touchdowns. But timing is everything, and at the time of his contract negotiations, Jones had just led the Giants to their first winning season and playoff appearance with him under center. He had just thrown for his career high in passing yards and led the NFL in interceptions per pass attempt, throwing only five.

These accomplishments hardly seem worth signing Jones to a deal resembling the likes of Prescott and Stafford and surpassing that of Carr, put Jones’ agent pulled out the pitch mentioned above. He convinced Schoen that with the inevitable new contracts for players like Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, Jared Goff, Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, and others, paying Jones $40MM per year would be a bargain, especially if he could maintain the level of play from his 2022 season.

Unfortunately, the Giants saw Jones only start six games under his new contract before succumbing to a season-ending injury, and those six games did nothing to instill much confidence in Jones making the contract seem like a bargain deal. In six contests, Jones averaged a career-low 152 passing yards per game, only throwing two touchdowns to six interceptions while going 1-5 as a starter. There’s still time for Jones to make a strong comeback from injury and prove he’s at least worth the bargain deal he signed. For now, though, Giants fans find themselves easily getting excited over underdog successes like Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito.

John Mara Expects Giants To Take ‘Big Step Forward’; Owner Remains Onboard With Daniel Jones Plan

August 1st, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Hard Knocks‘ initial offseason project captured the third Joe Schoen–Brian Daboll Giants roster-building effort, with John Mara making some important cameos. After cameras documented the Giants’ free agency period, the Brian Burns trade and the pre-draft buildup, it is safe to say a bigger spotlight will be on the team’s 2024 season.

Mara, who advocated for keeping Saquon Barkley (though, without mandating Schoen make a strong effort to do so) and certainly wanted him to end up outside of Philadelphia, stopped short of requiring his third-year decision-makers steer the team back to the playoffs. But the owner does expect a significant improvement, even after the Barkley and Xavier McKinney defections, this season.

“I expect us to take a big step forward,” Mara said, via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy. “… I obviously want to show significant improvement over last year, but I’m not going to make any specific guarantees or demands or anything like that. They know what I want to see. I have a lot of confidence in this particular team. I think we’ve added some good pieces. Now it’s time to show everybody.”

The Giants finished 6-11 last year, but five of those wins came without Daniel Jones. The starter, who received $81MM guaranteed during an eventful 2023 offseason that involved a Barkley franchise tag, struggled amid a tough early-season schedule. Jones battled a neck injury before his November ACL tear. Fully healthy once again, Jones looks to be going into another “prove it” season. The Giants can escape the contract by taking on only modest dead money by releasing the longtime starter as a post-June 1 cut next year, though Mara remains onboard with the team’s embattled starter.

“I’m still happy we gave him that contract because I thought he played really well for us in 2022,” Mara said (via Dunleavy) of the four-year, $160MM extension authorized in March 2023. “Last year, he got hurt. And let’s be honest: When he was playing, we weren’t blocking anybody. Let’s give him a chance with a better offensive line and some weapons around him to see what he can do.”

Hard Knocks followed the Giants’ rumored plan to trade up for a Jones heir apparent. The Giants attempted to trade Nos. 6 and 47, along with their 2025 first-round pick, to the Patriots for the No. 3 overall draft slot. The Pats passed, rejecting a substantial Vikings offer as well, and chose Drake Maye — whom both NFC teams coveted — to be their hopeful franchise QB. With that off the table, Schoen pivoted to a wide receiver-based strategy in Round 1 by choosing Malik Nabers.

Not impeding Schoen in free agency, Mara was not thrilled about the Barkley conclusion. But the owner’s Jones support — which was a key part of the first Schoen-Daboll offseason back in 2022 — did not prompt him to stand in the way of an attempt to trade up for a passer in the draft. The team’s Plan B unfolding, with Nabers profiling as the highest-ceiling WR option the Giants have rostered during the Jones era, will apply increased pressure on the sixth-year passer.

“I was nervous about giving up too much to go get a quarterback,” Mara said, “but I was prepared to let them do that if that’s what they wanted to do. We made a decision to stay with Daniel and add a weapon for him, and I think that’s going to work out.”

The Athletic’s Dan Duggan notes the owner and his nephew — player personnel director Tim McDonnell — stood as the biggest skeptics of Schoen’s plan to let the two-time Pro Bowl running back walk in free agency (subscription required). Pro scouting director Chris Rossetti also made a minor pitch to apply a second franchise tag, but the Giants passed on the $12MM payment. The Eagles gave Barkley a three-year, $37.5MM payday with $26MM fully guaranteed; the latter figure leads all active RBs.

Mara also confirmed (via Duggan) he sought this offseason Hard Knocks version to avoid cameras following his team at a near-future training camp; after the access the Giants provided, it will be unlikely other teams make a point of doing that. The longtime owner seen his club produce one winning season over the past seven — a surprise 9-7-1 slate that ended in the 2022 divisional round — and no Giants head coach has reached Year 4 since Tom Coughlin. Jones disappointing and Barkley thriving as an Eagle will probably affect Mara’s support for his current decision-makers.

Although the Giants’ roster has some well-paid Dave Gettleman-era draftees as cornerstones, Year 3 features more Schoen imports. It will obviously be a critical year for the regime. The lack of an improvement on last season runs the risk of Schoen and Daboll’s jobs being on the line without the duo having acquired their own quarterback.

Giants’ Daniel Jones Cleared Ahead Of Training Camp

July 24th, 2024 at 8:22am CST by Adam La Rose

JULY 24: Daboll confirmed Wednesday that Jones has received full clearance for camp. Daboll said (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan) the sixth-year quarterback will participate in 11-on-11 drills for the first time this year. Continuing to put to rest any notion of a QB competition, Daboll added Jones will take every snap with the first-team offense during camp.

JULY 21: Daniel Jones has long been expected to be healthy in time for training camp. When providing an update on his health, the sixth-year Giants quarterback confirmed he will be 100% once summer practices commence.

Jones told Peter Botte of the New York Post he “should be” ready in time for Wednesday, the Giants’ first training camp session. The 27-year-old has been rehabbing the ACL tear which ended his 2023 campaign, and he has not endured any setbacks to date. Jones participated in minicamp during the spring, though he did not take part in 11-on-11 drills.

That will of course change once training camp opens. Jones – whose future in New York has been a topic of considerable speculation during the offseason – will work with the first-team offense. Free agent signee Drew Lock is in place as a relatively experienced backup, but head coach Brian Daboll previously made it clear there will be no competition in the summer. Of course, that commitment to Jones will not put to rest concerns over his long-term Giants outlook.

New York was among the teams which made a concerted effort to trade up to the No. 3 slot and select a quarterback in April. To little surprise, Jones was not thrilled with that approach but he enters 2024 with the opportunity to stake his claim to a long-term stay in the Big Apple. Three years remain on the former first-rounder’s deal, though a potential out exists after the coming season.

For that reason, plenty is at stake as Jones prepares for his first campaign without running back Saquon Barkley in the fold. The latter departed in free agency after general manager Joe Schoen and Co. prioritized upgrades along the offensive line and at the skill positions during the offseason. Jones’ health is an area of concern as well given his injury history, but 2024 will at least begin on the right foot in that respect.

Daniel Jones’ Contract Factored Into Giants’ Saquon Barkley Strategy

July 3rd, 2024 at 10:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants’ fork-in-the-road moment involving Saquon Barkley came nearly 18 months ago, when they re-signed Daniel Jones and slapped the franchise tag on their Pro Bowl running back minutes before the tag deadline. Another round of negotiations did not produce a deal, eventually leading the former Offensive Rookie of the Year to Philadelphia.

Jones’ four-year, $160MM deal — one that includes a fully guaranteed 2024 salary — changed the Giants’ path with Barkley, as could be expected. GM Joe Schoen expanded on that during the debut episode of HBO’s offseason Hard Knocks effort. As Giants front office staffers met with the third-year GM about Barkley’s status before free agency, Jones’ deal came up with regards to the team’s interest in paying Barkley.

“We have to upgrade the offensive line and you’re paying [Jones] $40MM, and it’s not to hand the ball off to a $12MM back,” Schoen said (h/t Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). “My plan is to address the offensive line at some point here in free agency. We’re sitting at 6, there’s a chance there’s an offensive weapon there. This is the year for Daniel.”

After skimping on guard investments last year, the Giants did beef up their O-line by signing Jon Runyan Jr. to a three-year, $30MM deal and adding Jermaine Eluemunor at two years and $14MM. Both are expected to start at guard, provided Evan Neal‘s rehab process concludes on time and his comeback bid at right tackle commences. They will be blocking for Jones and Devin Singletary, the Giants’ post-Barkley plan who had pre-Giants ties to Schoen and Brian Daboll from the parties’ Buffalo years.

Barkley said in the spring the Giants were not among the four teams who submitted an offer. In a meeting with John Mara earlier this year, Schoen said an offer in the Giants’ ballpark would run the risk of disrespecting the player who had operated as the team’s offensive centerpiece.

“We’re not gonna franchise him. It doesn’t make any sense to franchise him,” Schoen told Mara. “What are we really gonna get unless it got down to $7MM? I don’t want to offer that because I don’t want to be like we ‘disrespected him.’ There’s 31 teams and it only takes one to maybe be open to doing something. If it doesn’t get to that then, hey, we’re going to let you hit free agency. Find out your market, come back and let us know if we can match it. If we can, we’ll have those discussions.

“Daniel’s making a lot of money and it’s the fork. We have to figure out, is he the guy, so we have to protect him. We need to put resources there. … We’ll have to find a running back, but upgrade the offensive line and give him a chance.”

Mara still acknowledged that “in a perfect world” he would like to re-sign Barkley, whom the Giants began negotiations with during their 2022 bye week. The partnership, however, ended with the Penn State alum’s three-year, $37.75MM Eagles deal. After the Giants offered a guarantee in the $22MM neighborhood in July 2023, Barkley will end up pocketing $36.1MM guaranteed between his New York franchise tag and Philly guarantee at signing.

Schoen and his staff pondered the merits of a tag-and-trade move, with Schoen and assistant GM Brandon Brown coming out against due to the $12MM cap hold and trade compensation the latter expected to be low. Giants staffers wondered how big of a gap existed between teams’ RB valuations of a crowded market. Director of pro scouting Chris Rossetti did seem to suggest a value gap existed between Barkley and the other FA backs, pointing to a potential trade market being there in the event the Giants did re-tag the two-time Pro Bowler. This turned out to be an appropriate debate, as a gulf did emerge.

After Barkley’s $26MM full guarantee, no other back received more than $14MM locked in at signing (D’Andre Swift). At the Combine, Schoen called the franchise tag a tool the Giants could use. It does not appear they seriously considered it.

During his conversation with Mara, Schoen did seem to underestimate teams’ interest in adding veteran RBs by indicating the second week of free agency should still feature some quality backs. Day 1 of the tampering period produced a wave of RB deals — for the likes of Barkley, Singletary, Swift, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, Austin Ekeler among the signees — as the bulk of the starter-level players committing to teams within hours of the market’s unofficial opening. The Giants did not end up waiting, locking down Singletary on a three-year, $16.5MM deal ($9.5MM fully guaranteed) less than an hour after the Barkley-to-Philly news broke.

Barkley’s age (27) factored into the Giants’ interest in another deal as well, with Schoen referencing the RB’s college carry total (671) with new 49ers staffer Frank Gore as further reasoning (h/t The33rdTeam.com) for the team’s hesitancy to pay him. Although Singletary is only seven months younger, he has logged 1,063 career touches to Barkley’s 1,489. Barkley reached that total despite missing 24 games due to injury from 2019-23.

Committed to Jones for 2024 (but not any longer, per the QB’s guarantee structure), the Giants are stuck with the 2019 first-round pick. Nearly a year and a half after the team’s Jones-or-Barkley decision, the team’s big-picture choice will play out in the NFC East this season.

Brian Daboll Addresses Giants’ QB Situation

June 12th, 2024 at 10:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Daniel Jones‘ progress on a return from a November ACL tear has not included 11-on-11 work at the team’s minicamp, but the sixth-year quarterback has long been expected to be back by training camp. When Jones returns, the starting job will be his once again.

Rumblings about Drew Lock potentially challenging Jones for the gig have come up at multiple points during the offseason. Seahawks GM John Schneider was responsible for once such instance, saying the Giants “basically sold him on the opportunity to compete to be the starter.” Brian Daboll became the latest to insist no QB competition will be on tap for training camp, indicating Jones — barring a setback on his nearly complete rehab journey — will be the Giants’ starter for a sixth season.

“We’ve talked about that. [Lock] understands his role,” Daboll said (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan) of the team’s Jones-Lock QB depth chart. “He has been a true pro. He has definitely improved since he has gotten here. Good to get two more workdays here with the guys that he might not necessarily get as many reps with once we get to training camp.”

The six-year mark provides an interesting line of demarcation for Giants starting quarterbacks. Kerry Collins and Fran Tarkenton‘s time as New York QB1s stopped after five seasons; Y.A. Tittle‘s tenure stopped at four. Over the past 75 years, Jones will join only Eli Manning, Phil Simms and Charlie Conerly as Big Blue passers to operate as primary starters for at least six seasons. The Giants have not seen a great return on their investment — from either the No. 6 overall pick in 2019 or 2023’s four-year, $160MM extension — but their decision-makers have continued to aim for another Jones opportunity.

A Jones-Lock depth chart appeared to be Plan B for the Giants, who submitted an offer to the Patriots that included Nos. 6 and 47 and the team’s 2025 first-round pick. The Pats cut off both the Giants and Vikings’ Drake Maye interest by drafting the North Carolina passer at No. 3. With next year’s QB class not generating the reviews this one did — albeit at this early juncture — the Giants reside in uncertain territory after passing on the likes of Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix. By default, the team’s game plan remains Jones-centric.

Chosen 36 picks after Jones in 2019, Lock signed a one-year deal worth $5MM ($4.95MM guaranteed). Jones’ injury history is believed to have played a role in Lock’s decision to join the Giants, but the ex-Broncos and Seahawks passer does not yet look to have a path to playing time. Jones has missed 21 starts due to injury as a pro. A late-season situation could also come up in which the Giants opt to sit their starter to ensure he can pass a 2025 physical; Jones being unable to do so would put the Giants on the hook for an additional $12MM in injury guarantees for 2025.

Lock has made 23 career starts. The Broncos had hoped he would become a reliable option, but the team demoted him after a 2020 season in which he led the NFL in interceptions. Lock could not beat out Geno Smith for Seattle’s starting gig in 2022. As of now, he is set as New York’s QB2.

Barring a major injury, the Giants can move on from Jones (via a post-June 1 cut) next year and incur only $11.1MM in 2025 dead money. The Maye pursuit certainly points to the team having doubts about Jones’ future, with his injury history playing the lead role on that front. After Jones’ 2022 showing convinced the current Giants regime to buy back in after the team had declined his fifth-year option, the oft-doubted starter is set for another “prove it” season.

Daniel Jones Addresses Giants’ Offseason QB Pursuit

May 23rd, 2024 at 9:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Giants hosted Russell Wilson and signed Drew Lock, they made a strong effort to acquire a long-term replacement for Daniel Jones in the draft. Countless connections to this year’s cast of arms emerged, leaving Jones in limbo for weeks going into the Detroit-based event.

Big Blue ties to J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr., along with the team’s Bo Nix visit, did not turn out to matter as much as the late flurry of reports tethering the club to Drake Maye. The steady late-April buzz on Maye turned out to be accurate, with both the Giants and Vikings offering future first-rounders with the purpose of drafting the two-year North Carolina starter.

The Giants offered Nos. 6 and 47, along with their 2025 first, to the Patriots with an eye on Maye. Holding the inside track thanks to a 4-13 2023 season, the Pats stuck at No. 3 and are developing Maye to be their hopeful long-term starter. The Pats’ interest in Maye became excellent news for Jones, who can breathe easier about his job security.

“Yeah, I mean, I wasn’t fired up about it,” Jones said (via the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard) about the Giants’ QB pursuit. “… I don’t think you can take anything personally at this level. How exactly it happened and what happened, I’m not sure I know; I’m not sure you know. But at the end of the day I’m focused on playing good football.”

Rumblings about the Giants using their disappointing season (and higher-than-expected draft slot) to draft a Jones successor following his ACL tear had surfaced back in November. By the Combine, a full-fledged QB research project was in high gear. But Giants interest in McCarthy, a popular topic earlier in the offseason, did not outweigh their hope Jones could improve if given a top-flight wide receiver prospect. The Giants walked through the latter door, giving their incumbent QB Malik Nabers to target.

The Giants’ plans at equipping Jones with impact targets have fizzled. They drafted Jones a month after trading Odell Beckham Jr. By 2021, the team’s WR plans bottomed out. Kenny Golladay became a historic free agency bust, and first-rounder Kadarius Toney quickly fell out of favor. The Joe Schoen regime’s trade for Darren Waller is looking like it will not produce any results beyond Year 1, with the former Pro Bowl tight end still considering retirement. As the earliest Giants WR pick in the common draft era (1967-present), Nabers represents a quality addition and will be a key part of what could certainly be Jones’ last chance with the team.

Jones received a text from the team before the Nabers pick, per ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan. The sixth-year QB remains confident he will be ready for Week 1 — long held as a realistic goal by player and team — and Raanan adds he is no longer wearing a knee brace. Jones has participated in seven-on-seven drills at OTAs.

The four-year, $160MM extension Jones signed drew immediate scrutiny, and the Eli Manning successor did not play well — albeit behind an injury-plagued O-line — before his November ACL tear. Two neck injuries have forced Jones to miss time over the past three seasons, with the starter’s injury trouble likely leading Lock to New York. While Lock may not be a true threat to take Jones’ job by Week 1 — contrary to one post-draft report — the former second-rounder might be a candidate to make starts down the stretch, as injury guarantees could come into play for the Giants. No guaranteed money will remain on Jones’ deal beyond 2024 — unless he unable to pass a physical by the start of the 2025 league year. That scenario would put the Giants on the hook for an additional $12MM.

For now, however, Jones is nearing a return from ACL surgery and will be aiming to develop a rapport with Nabers. While Saquon Barkley‘s defection stands to sting, the Giants will hope Nabers can fill a longstanding WR need. Jones will hope to show the Giants will not go into 2025 with a quarterback need.

Latest On Giants’ Quarterback Situation

May 15th, 2024 at 4:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Offerings from Seahawks GM John Schneider and NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah this offseason have pointed to Drew Lock being part of an actual quarterback competition in New York. The organization’s stance has remained in the Daniel Jones camp, but the five-year starter submitted a poor showing in his abbreviated 2023 season.

Some pushback has emerged regarding the possibility Lock will be part of a true competition with Jones. Barring a spectacular development from Lock during the offseason program, ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan views this as Jones’ job. The expectation remains that Jones will return to starter duties once he is cleared, The Athletic’s Charlotte Carroll adds.

Lock, who has entered just one of his five NFL seasons as a starter (2020), said the Giants did convey to him upon signing he would be Jones’ backup. Viewed at one point as the Seahawks’ most likely post-Russell Wilson starter, Lock lost a summer competition to Geno Smith in 2022. With Smith re-signing on a three-year, $75MM deal and Lock returning to Seattle on a one-year, $4MM accord, no competition occurred in 2023. Jones has never exactly competed for the New York QB1 gig, as his draft status and Eli Manning‘s age led to a September 2019 change. Jones’ career has been rocky, though, and his contract points to pressure being justifiably applied — even after the Giants passed on drafting a QB at No. 6.

Big Blue, of course, went through an exhaustive research project on this draft’s QB crop. And the team did make an aggressive offer — Nos. 6 and 47 and a 2025 first-rounder — for the Patriots’ No. 3 pick, with Drake Maye as the target in that proposed swap. The Giants did not view the Michael Penix Jr.–J.J. McCarthy–Bo Nix contingent as a sufficient upgrade on Jones or Lock to pass on filling its wide receiver need in Round 1. Malik Nabers is now poised to help Jones (or Lock, potentially) this season.

Jones’ four-year, $160MM contract features language that could prompt the Giants to be careful with an injury-prone player, opening the door for Lock to see time down the stretch — certainly if the team is out of contention. A $12MM injury guarantee would kick in if Jones is unable to pass a physical by the start of the 2025 league year. Jones entered the 2022 and ’24 league years on the mend; his injury history affected the Giants’ pursuit of QBs in this draft class and influenced Lock to sign with the team. Even if Jones recovers from his ACL rehab in time for training camp — all parties’ long-held expectation — his 2025 guarantee offers a variable here. If Jones can pass a physical next March, the Giants can designate him a post-June 1 cut and incur less than $12MM in dead money.

The Giants and Jones engaged in a negotiation that went down to the wire in March 2023. The QB used the franchise tag deadline, which impacted Saquon Barkley‘s future with the team, as leverage en route to the $40MM-per-year deal that included $81MM guaranteed. During a process that featured Jones changing agents, his asking price was believed to have reached $47MM per year at one point. The Giants were not exactly thrilled their starter aimed to squeeze the team in negotiations, with SNY’s Connor Hughes noting the QB’s hardline stance rubbed some in the organization the wrong way.

It is obviously not uncommon for players to maximize leverage during talks; the most accomplished QB in the Giants’ division, Dak Prescott, did this three years ago to secure $40MM per year on a player-friendly structure. Prescott also used a franchise tag deadline as leverage, and while the Giants hoped Jones’ asking price would come in around $35MM per year, the QB knew the team prioritized him over Barkley. After a playoff win, Jones took full advantage.

A year later, Barkley — after turning down a Giants extension offer in July 2023 — is elsewhere and Jones faces another “prove it” year. Jones’ New York future certainly appears to hinge on how he performs this season — should he indeed be the starter and Lock the backup.

Drew Lock In Play To Win Giants’ Starting QB Job?

May 1st, 2024 at 10:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Giants GM Joe Schoen has repeatedly indicated Daniel Jones is on track to return by training camp and reprise his role as the team’s starting quarterback. The team also showed tremendous confidence in the rehabbing QB by using the No. 6 overall pick to draft Malik Nabers, doing so despite extensive work on this year’s passer class.

Jones’ resume doubles as an unusual one for a quarterback on track for a sixth year as a team’s starter, but the party line (and Jones’ contract) centers around that being the Giants’ path. However, more rumblings about a QB competition are coming out. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah said during his Move the Sticks podcast (h/t the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) Drew Lock holds a legitimate chance to win that starting job.

The Giants thoroughly scouted this year’s QB class, being closely linked to both Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy and hosting the likes of Bo Nix and Spencer Rattler on “30” visits along with the recent North Carolina and Michigan starters. The value did not align for the Giants at No. 6, with a clear line of demarcation forming between Maye and the next tier at the position. That led to the team offering the Patriots Nos. 6 and 47, along with a 2025 first-rounder for No. 3 overall. As it stands, the Giants remain a Jones-centric operation.

“Yeah, for me, I said it in January after the season. Expectation was Daniel would be our starter and we brought Drew Lock in to be his backup and Tommy [DeVito] has been the backup,” Schoen said, via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan. “So that’s where we are and that’s how we’ll move forward this season. Daniel is still under contract for three more years. As it sits today, that is where we are.”

Certainly not a ringing Jones endorsement, Schoen’s comments come after Seahawks GM John Schneider said the Giants dangled the carrot of giving Lock a chance to compete for the starting job. Lock could well vie for playing time when Jones is healthy, the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard adds.

Schoen’s assessment also points to a second “prove it” year for the 2019 No. 6 overall pick. Jones, 26, responded well to such a challenge in 2022, piloting a moderately talented Giants team to a surprising divisional-round run. But he fared poorly before going down last season, doing so after receiving $81MM guaranteed at signing. That deal guarantees Jones’ $35.5MM base salary this season. After this year, the Giants can move on without too much in the way of dead money.

The Giants’ QB research project pitted this year’s class against Jones and Lock, and Jeremiah adds Maye provided the cutoff point. The team used Lock as a central comparison tool while evaluating this year’s class, per Jeremiah, who said the former second-round pick has a “really good shot” of winning the Giants’ job. Given the team’s 2023 commitment to Jones, it would be borderline shocking if Lock — who signed a one-year, $5MM deal in March — beat him out. On the whole, however, Jones has not given the Giants what they hoped for in an Eli Manning successor. And just about everything went wrong for the five-year starter last season.

A March report indicated the Giants’ QB search largely hinged on a lack of confidence Jones could stay healthy. Jones’ health history also is believed to have partially influenced Lock’s decision to sign with the Giants. Two neck injuries — one of which requiring a 2022 surgery — have hindered the scrutinized starter, and he will not be full-go until at least training camp. That will open the door to Lock offseason starter reps. Those could be important, if this is to become a genuine competition.

Chosen 36 spots after Jones in 2019, Lock lost a competition with Geno Smith in 2022 and did not threaten the latter’s job security last year. The former Broncos draftee has proven erratic when given extended run as a starter. Lock led the NFL in INTs during his last full-season starter run (2020), doing so despite only finishing 12 games. He also played the lead role in sinking the Broncos in 2021, starting the team’s final three games (all losses) after entering a Week 15 contest with the team at 7-6. Lock, 27, did play well in a start against the Eagles last year, leading a game-winning drive. Of course, the Eagles’ defense was on the brink of a full-on collapse at that point.

It would be interesting to see the Giants bail on Jones as their starter just as they have given him a No. 1-caliber wide receiver prospect; the team’s previous hopes at doing so failed miserably. But Jones has just one top-half QBR finish (2022) and one season with more than 15 TD passes (2019). He should be considered on the hot seat. The Giants also would owe an additional $12MM in injury guarantees if Jones is unable to pass a physical by the start of the 2025 league year.

Moving parts exist here, and while it would surprise if Lock received the call based on his past and the Giants’ Jones investment, this could be a storyline to monitor soon.

Giants Could Wait For QB In Draft

April 22nd, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Ely Allen

APRIL 22: Adding to the idea New York could pass on a first-round signal-caller, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post notes the Giants could be prepared to move down if J.J. McCarthy were the top passer still on the board at No. 6. That could result in a trade-down maneuver and leave the team in range for one of the second-tier QBs. Dunleavy adds that a factor which could alter that approach is the possibility of acquiring Maye, which falls in line with the Meirov report.

APRIL 21: Ever since Daniel Jones tore his ACL last season, putting to rest any chances of rebounding from an abysmal start to lead his team to the playoffs for the second year in a row, there has been constant chatter in New York about committing a first-round draft pick to the quarterback position. According to Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team, the Giants may not be all-in on using their current top pick, No. 6 overall, to draft a passer.

The Giants rewarded Jones’ playoff season, in which he led the league in fewest interceptions per pass attempt, with a four-year, $160MM contract. His first year under the new deal obviously did not go according to plan, but New York has claimed on multiple occasions that it does not regret committing to Jones and isn’t quite ready to give up on him. Still, they let it be known that they had plans to add a quarterback in the future; Jones’ injury history necessitated it.

Now, they actually have to address how that will work. Most projections for how the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft will play out see a run of four quarterbacks opening the night. While that’s not guaranteed, if it occurs, the Giants would likely not see any of the quarterbacks they want fall back to them. That hasn’t stopped many mock drafts from predicting a quarterback to New York via a trade up into the Cardinals’ No. 4 overall slot.

Meirov tells us that league rumors state that North Carolina passer Drake Maye is the only one of the passers not named “Caleb Williams” that the Giants would consider going after if he started to slip. It’s expecting quite a bit to think that Maye could find his way down to the sixth pick, but this could be insinuating that New York would trade up to the fourth pick if the Commanders and Patriots both pass on Maye.

If not, though, Meirov believes that they could address another position, like offensive tackle or wide receiver, at No. 6 overall then wait until the second round to select a quarterback. It depends how things play out, but both Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix were thought of as Day 2 picks at some point. The run of passers at the top of the draft may mean that Penix and Nix hear their names a little earlier than their value (for instance, the Raiders have constantly been connected to Penix at No. 13 overall), but should either quarterback slip back into the second round, consider them top targets for the Giants.

If they particularly like Penix or Nix and see them starting to slip in the first round, they may decide to trade back into the first round, or they could leverage their No. 6 overall pick to trade back and collect more picks without addressing the offensive line or receiving corps then pick one of the two passers. If they miss out on both Penix and Nix they may have to reach (or trade back a little in the second round) for South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler, widely thought to have a third-round value or later.

Regardless, the Giants have lots of options. They remain committed to Jones but still feel the need to add a rookie to the room. Just how they decide to go about adding that rookie could say a lot about how they feel about Jones heading into 2024.

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