This Giants regime is suddenly in a difficult spot at quarterback. Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll gave a starter they did not draft a $40MM-per-year extension that drew extensive criticism, and Daniel Jones subsequently suffered an ACL tear. Jones will spend the next several months rehabbing, creating uncertainty.

Following Jones’ knee injury, Schoen said the team would be in the market for a quarterback to at least round out the depth chart. While it is still not known if the Giants would legitimately consider adding competition for a player they worked to re-sign last year, they do have the No. 6 overall pick — Jones’ slot back in 2019. People close to the Giants have informed Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline the team will make its QB move this offseason.

“Ultimately, we have to do something,” Schoen said this week. “Whether it’s the draft or a free agent, just because Tyrod [Taylor’s] contract is up. We have Tommy [DeVito], who’s under contract, and then Daniel’s injury — the return to play and the uncertainty there. When free agency starts, the draft. Whichever avenue we decide to take, we will address the position.”

Schoen hopes Jones can make it back by Week 1; the five-year veteran said recently he is aiming for a return by training camp. With training camp more than nine months from Jones’ early-November injury, that recovery timetable would be in range. Week 1 would be more realistic, but the bigger question for the Giants — who are tied to Jones due to guarantees through at least the 2024 season — is if they want to add a veteran backup type or make a push to draft a replacement. A report suggesting a true Jones replacement will be targeted emerged in the fall, though the Giants were then projected to hold a higher draft choice than No. 6.

Jones again faces questions about his long-term viability. Eli Manning‘s successor has run into multiple neck injuries and now the ACL tear, but he was not remotely viewed as a $40MM-AAV player when the Schoen-Daboll regime declined his fifth-year option. Jones is the first quarterback in the option era (2014-present) to see his option declined and then re-sign with that team. His $82MM guaranteed makes a 2024 cut untenable, but a 2025 release — especially if it is the post-June 1 variety — would cost the team only $11.1MM in dead money. Considering Dave Gettleman drafted Jones, this Giants offseason could become the point the Schoen-led regime makes plans to move on.

That would, of course, be a bit odd due to the $160MM contract to which Jones is attached. But the Duke product was not playing particularly well, albeit behind an injury-ravaged O-line, before his injury this season. Jones struggled from 2020-21 as well, though his 2022 ascent also came with the Giants fielding a bottom-tier pass-catching group. Variables exist here, and Jones will only be going into his age-27 season this year.

Pauline mocks Heisman-winning QB Jayden Daniels to New York at No. 6. Barring a trade-up maneuver, Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are almost definitely out of reach for Big Blue, and Daniels — given the QB supply-and-demand issue — may also require a trade-up come April. Field Yates’ ESPN.com big board places Daniels one spot in front of Maye, however, with no other QB in the top 25. The race for the second- and third-best 2024 arms could be fascinating, assuming the Bears take Williams first overall.

The Giants have a better in-house option, assuming Jones is recovered, than most of the other teams in the market for a passer. But if Daboll and Schoen become enamored with one of the prospects, it is certainly reasonable they will effectively put an expiration date on the Gettleman-era QB draftee.

Daniel Jones provided an encouraging update on his knee injury. The Giants quarterback told reporters that he suffered only an ACL injury and didn’t have any other structural damage, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.

[RELATED: Giants Expect Daniel Jones To Start In 2024]

Two weeks removed from his knee surgery, Jones now has a clearer outlook on his rehab. The quarterback told reporters that he intends to “check all the boxes” along the way but is targeting training camp as his return date.

“I mean, it’s a long road. I think it depends, kind of how I do with each stage of it and, and how it progresses,” Jones said (h/t Yahoo’s Ben Krimmel). “I’m going to try to focus on what’s right in front of me during each stage and do as well as I can with each of those. It’s a long road ahead.”

Jones suffered the torn ACL in early November, meaning there would be around 10 months between his injury and the start of next season. There was hope that the quarterback would be on the field for the 2024 season opener, but it was uncertain how many reps he’d be able to get during training camp and the preseason. Jones’ ambitious target means he’d be able to get a full preseason with his squad.

Considering the player’s injury, uneven play, and hefty $40MM price tag, it was uncertain if the former sixth-overall pick would stick around New York. GM Joe Schoen acknowledged that the player’s uncertain status for the start of next season could require the front office to make a move at the position, but he also noted that Jones is expected to be the QB1 when he’s healthy enough to play.

The Giants’ 2023 season took another unfortunate turn when quarterback Daniel Jones suffered an ACL tear. That will sideline him for the remainder of the campaign, the first of his sizeable extension which has invited speculation about his future.

When speaking publicly about the injury for the first time, Jones was understandably asked about what effect (if any) he felt the injury would have on his long-term future in New York. The 26-year-old declined to address the topic, to no surprise, focusing instead on his plans for surgery and rehab. He indicated (via Zach Braziller of the New York Post) he is waiting for swelling in his knee to go down before deciding on a firm operation date, adding it will likely happen in the coming weeks.

“I think I’m focused on what I’m doing right now and trying to get my knee ready for the surgery and ready for the process to come back stronger,” the former No. 6 pick said. “So, in terms of my future, and what I’m thinking about it, it’s to attack this process and come back stronger, and a better football player in the future.”

Jones inked a four-year, $160MM deal this offseason in a show of confidence from the Joe Schoen-Brian Daboll regime. That pact – which has already been restructured – calls for $36MM in guaranteed salary and a $47.1MM cap hit in 2024. While those figures ensure the Duke alum will be in place next season, speculation has increased regarding how open the Giants could be to acquiring a successor as early as the upcoming draft. Prior to the Week 9 game in which Jones went down, Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano indicated the team was committed to Jones given the term remaining on his deal and the financial penalties associated with cutting or trading him.

Given what has transpired since then, however, things may have changed. Vacchiano has since written that if the Giants find themselves at or near the top of the board in April, “there is no doubt they will draft” an heir apparent to Jones. USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye, in particular, would represent options likely too good to pass up if they were within the team’s range. Sitting at 2-7 and with Tommy DeVito now at the helm of the offense, the Giants could easily find themselves facing an interesting decision with respect to Jones in the spring.

Cutting the latter before June 1 in 2025 would result in a $22.2MM cap charge, a sizeable figure but one which could be justified in absorbing if a succession plan were to be in place by that point. Along with New York’s actions this spring, Jones’ ability to remain healthy and return to last year’s form in 2024 will of course be a major storyline to follow next year in the event signs point to it being his last with the Giants.

Jones added there is no further damage in his knee beyond the ACL tear, and that the neck injury which sidelined him for three games will not require surgery. While that news is encouraging, there will be plenty at stake for him when he next takes the field for the Giants, a team which will be worth watching closely in the offseason if their 2023 struggles continue.

The Giants’ offense is on track to move closer to full strength as early as next week. Quarterback Daniel Jones has been cleared for contact, as first reported by Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.

Jones was actually given the green light prior to Sunday’s game, Dunleavy notes, but it comes as no surprise that the Giants played it safe by ensuring at least one week of full practice. Given the injury suffered by Tyrod Taylor on Sunday, Jones’ return would be welcomed by a team in desperate need of improvement in the passing game.

The Giants mustered negative nine passing yards in their overtime loss to the Jets on Sunday, a game in which undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito took over following Taylor’s injury. New York’s offense relied all-but exclusively on running back Saquon Barkley, who logged 36 carries in the game. The latter will no doubt remain the focal point of the Giants’ offense once Jones returns, but such a scenario will give the team another starter in the fold.

Jones has missed the past three games due to his latest neck injury, one which has been described as being less severe than the one suffered in 2021 which ended his season. The risk of reinjury was high in the event Jones was rushed back into action, however, making it no surprise the Giants elected to wait until the former first-rounder logged a slate of full practices before bringing him back into the lineup.

An IR stint was never a consideration on New York’s part, but recent reports pointed to Week 10 as their targeted return date for Jones. Bringing their franchise passer back one week earlier than that would help compensate for Taylor’s absence in the event he is forced to miss time, but it would no doubt invite questions about Jones’ ability to rebound from a slow start to the season. 2023 – the first year of his four-year, $160MM extension – has not gone according to plan for the 26-year-old individually or the 2-6 Giants collectively.

Jones’ participation in practice will be worth watching in the coming days as he prepares for a likely return to action in advance of New York’s Week 9 game against the Raiders. It will also be interesting to see what moves (if any) the Giants make in the next two days with respect to the trade deadline.

OCTOBER 29: Unlike Schefter, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com do not offer a timetable for Jones’ return. The duo reports that Jones is dealing with weakness in his left (non-throwing shoulder), though they add that he is regaining strength and confirm that the injury is not expected to present long-term complications.

Rapoport and Pelissero classify Jones’ injury as a disc issue. Again, the current ailment is not as serious as the one that brought a premature end to Jones’ 2021 campaign, which they also describe as a disc problem. Interestingly, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News believes that is the first time anyone has acknowledged that the 2021 injury was indeed related to a disc and not a “neck strain.”

A source tells Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports that “it’s a bit of a guess” as to when Jones will return. However, the team truly does not believe he will be shut down for the rest of the season and that he will be back on the field “sooner than later.”

OCTOBER 28: The Giants are now aiming to have Jones return for Week 10, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jordan Raanan. That contest – against the Cowboys – will likely be the first before which Jones will have been cleared for full contact, making it a more reasonable target than next week’s contest against the Raiders. While the latter game could still be in play, more progress would need to be made in his recovery in the coming days. Two more consecutive starts for Taylor are therefore likely on tap.

OCTOBER 27: Week 8 will mark the third consecutive missed game for Daniel Jones as he continues to recover from his latest neck injury. The Giants quarterback’s process in that regard remains slow moving, but he he still on track to return to action this season.

Jones’ latest neck ailment is not considered as serious as the two others he has dealt with in his NFL career, but it has already lingered over a notable stretch of time. The 26-year-old still has not been cleared for contact, which has led to continued questions about his ability to suit up again in 2023. Head coach Brian Daboll spoke on that front when asked about Jones’ situation on Friday.

“He’s getting better and we’ll see where he is next week,” Daboll said, via CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, when asked if New York’s starting signal-caller is under the threat of being shut down for the year. “I don’t have a crystal ball with injuries, but he is getting better and we’ll see where he is next week.”

The Giants have elected not to place Jones on IR, a move which would have guaranteed at least a four-week absence. The fact the team has instead preferred a game-to-game approach proves their optimism in his ability to recover in full soon, which would also mark a faster return than his most recent neck issue in 2021. As the CBS report notes, however, there is no longer a “perceptible difference” in Jones’ movements in practice – he was cleared to throw last week – compared to before he suffered the injury.

As a result, it will be interesting to see how much longer he will remain without clearance for contact. That will not happen until next week at the earliest, by which point the trade deadline will have come and gone. The Giants could be active in moving players in the coming days, though it has become clear running back Saquon Barkley will not be among them. Upon his return, Jones (in the first season of his four-year, $160MM contract) will aim to rebound from a poor start to the 2023 campaign, something which has been true of New York’s offense as a whole.

In the meantime, the Giants will continue to rely on veteran Tyrod Taylor under center. The 34-year-old helped guide the team to a 14-7 win in Week 7, but Daboll has made it clear Jones will reprise his role as starter when healthy, a point during the season which remains unclear.