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.
Tank for that kid in Washington
The problem with that is that the giants lack a good o line plus the field is bad and he’s already tore his ACL twice.
Giants have been a disaster since taking Barkley over Josh Allen. Probably sooner. LoL
Josh Allen pretty much sucked his first 2 seasons and if he was a Giant would probably still suck…..the issue with the Giants goes beyond the obvious…..their evaluation of talent, regardless of position and whether it’s the draft or free agency SUCKS…..they constantly pick the wrong guys and then watch as the 5 years of the rookie contracts expire and then cry…….I think a Marra family member still runs the scouting department and obviously don’t know a good lineman from a doorknob…….
The problem is, it doesn’t matter who is QB if they don’t address the offensive line. It makes basically the last half of Eli’s career seem amazing that he was still able to produce despite it. For a running QB like Jones, a neck injury from taking hits and an knee injury to run on are strikes 1 and 2, and he has not shown the ability to dictate a game without running.
I understand that picking his replacement would be an option drating in the top 3-4 spots, but if they draft his replacement then who do they get on the line to protect him?
Why would you give a QB $160m when his ‘best season’ was 3,200 yards and 15 TD’s? Both are pedestrian numbers. He should have been allowed to walk last year. That’s on the GM & HC.
CJ Stroud already has 2,200 yards and 14TD’s mid season. To put Jones’ stats in perspective.
You’re leaving out that he had 700 yards rushing, 7 TDs, zero WR help, and a bad offensive line. Plus he got them to the playoffs and won a playoff game.
If he “should have been allowed to walk”, what was the alternative? Bear in mind that few QBs would be able to perform behind this OL. Run Tyrod out there as starting QB and punt the season before it even began, right after having made the Divisional round of the playoffs for the first time in God knows how long? Fans would have revolted and people like you would have lambasted them as a clown organization.
Given few alternatives, the Giants signed him to an overpay deal that gives them an out after only two seasons. They did what they had to. Mocking the Jones contract is an oversimplification of the situation.
Also comparing CJ Stroud to Jones makes zero sense because the Giants did not have the opportunity to draft him. Total non-sequitur.
It’s not a stretch to counter with “yes, at $40M, let him walk because he wasn’t going to make any progress … and neither would the team … without addressing & fixing what’s been wrong for years. You’re not winning with or without him but the latter wouldn’t take a $40M bite for only one position.”
My point has/is/always will be they spent $40M based on one playoff win last season; which was, as we say in in Jamaica, “buck ups”
With this OL, what would’ve been the difference between Jones and any journeyman under center? I can’t even say “we’re about to find out now” because navel lint has more experience than the sacrificial lamb facing the Cowboys D this weekend.
Had Jones left for Tampa (for example) you sign Mayfield and immediately pivot back to The Last Crusade for OL improvement.
No it’s not easy. If it were, Front Office salaries wouldn’t be what they are … but you should be held to a higher standard than a random message board
Baker Mayfield cost Tampa $5m as one alternative choice. Jacoby B has started full seasons. Wentz would have been 70% cheaper….Lots of choices. They choose to ignore 3 years of -at best- mediocre play. That’s the signing that gets people fired, rightfully so.
If they let him and Barkley walk last year, they would have 2 more most likely 3rd round picks this draft to work with this draft.
Both you and Buckaroo are right. It’s a poorly designed offense personnel. Terrible line and weapons. Jones isn’t good enough to overcome that.
Arty, I think the challenge there is it is New York. They had some success last season, and that’s a tough market to walk that back in. Right or wrong, the media would’ve absolutely crushed them for letting Jones and Barkley walk- especially when the other NY team went out and traded for Aaron Rodgers.
I don’t think Jones is a terrible QB. Is 40m a lot for him? Absolutely. It’s the market for the position, though. You can generally bank on paying “average” 30m-35m at that position.
You did list some cheaper alternatives, but imagine if the Giants had gone with one of those as they sit here today at 2-7. The decision makers would have been ran out of town. I’m not saying you’re entirely wrong, or I even disagree- but in some ways success was the worst thing that could have happened to NY last season. Now the bottom has to fall out where everyone is like ok, it’s time for a rebuild.
To me, it’s really no different than the Raiders trading out Carr for Garp & the Saints changing out Winston for Carr. All are about the same level of QB play. If they let Jones walk, do you think his new team would be any better? I don’t. His play says enough for me. As many have mentioned, they have bad weapons and line. Build them up while trying to get a QB that fits your system.
At some point, you just have to admit you have limited options at QB, but that’s no reason to overpay for an average QB.
Personally, I think Carr is much better than Jimmy G. I don’t really see what people see in Jimmy G. But I get what you’re saying. My point is it’s about optics with replacing Jones; and in New York, that matters. The Giants outperformed their talent level last year. You make a change to, say, Mayfield -who probably is close to Jones in talent- and you go 2-7, people blame the management for making the switch. After all, you just had a decent season with Jones at the helm. If Jones went somewhere and played decent, which he might with a better O-line, that decision looks worse.
Again, not disagreeing with you completely. I’ll just pose this question: How would you convince your fanbase, and the NY media, that you need to rebuild a team that made the playoffs, before this season ever began? If you’re making decisions for the Giants, that question matters a lot.
I get what you’re saying with the media attention/hype after their run last year. But the Giants won something like 7 one score games against sub .500 teams last year last year. That was due to coaching more than talent. Coaching can only go so far.
With your thoughts, I would have signed Barkley to a 2 year deal fully guaranteed, a hair above the tag price. Say $22-24m range. They keep a face of the team player. Then tag Jones. Let him prove himself again this year w/ an easy out. No cap ramifications if he had another bad or injury year, like he had so far.
Last draft for NYG, I would have traded back from the late 20’s to collect 2nd-4th round picks and really overhauled the roster. Those mid round picks are the meat of the roster. Some do well, some get injured, some flame out, some get flipped for picks…But if you have 2 3rd-5th round picks, you can really build a roster in your eyes. That’s a rebuild to me. I would have also drafted a ‘developmental QB’ for safety.
The Raiders are a perfect example. It’s a top heavy roster w/ Adams, Crosby & Garp ($$$ speaking) and then not much else. The Raiders would be wise to trade back in both the 1st and 2nd round this year for picks in ’24 and ’25. Neither team (Giants & Raiders) is 1 player away from competing.
A true rebuild shouldn’t take more than 2 seasons. You load up on young talent, not FA’s (or very few that aren’t expensive) and coach them up.
HoF QB’s are rare which is why they are so much fun to watch! But owning the lines, 4.5ypc from the backs, solid TE’s for 7-10 yards range and 2 WR’s 10-15 yard range still win games today. Minimal flags and TO’s are still the keys to winning in football. At any level. Balt’s D doesn’t have a dominate sack leader, but plenty in the 7 sack range. That’s winning on D.
Due to the media, everyone gets hyped on 1st round draft picks! But continually losing teams need more than 1 superstar, even if they pan out to superstar level. Cards, DC, Carolina, NYG, NE these days, Bears, All come to mind as teams that think they are 1 player away while being 20+ players away from annual competing.
My comparison to CJ is that a rookie has more impressive numbers at the half way point this season than Jones did all of last season.
Because they covered themselves by structuring the contract where they can get out of it after 2 years.
arty – I think most folks expected Jones to progress as a passer this year while remaining a running threat. I thought myself 3500-4000 yards and 25 TD was more than reasonable. I don’t think many expected him to regress so badly, the offensive line to be THIS bad, and the injuries on top of it.
Hindsight is 20/20. It certainly looks bad today, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the best move to make at the time. Had he put up the numbers I mentioned above he’d be a relative veteran bargain.
Ok, then tag him and let his play for a second season in a row to back up a multi-year contract.
I didn’t read one article anywhere all offseason that thought the deal was a good deal for the Giants. Did you?
Not really. Most articles were of the “hoping he makes that leap” variety. Well he made a leap except it was backward.
470 yds and 5 TD’s came last game for Stroud….lets see if this is a turning point or just a mirage before we anoint him as obviously superior to Jones….although I’m not a Jones fan and never will be…..its time to draft a new QB…..Bo Nix is the right man for the job…………
Does anybody besides the Giants GM think that Daniel Jones is the answer? This is clearly the year to fix that mistake.
Schoen didn’t draft Jones and really didn’t have lots of choice other than Cas Keenum types to choose from if turning away from Jones…which is why he got ink on the type of contract which will allow the Giants to walk away in 2025 if necessary……
Could of had Dobbs, as could 4-5 other teams.
If the Giants have the opportunity, I’d expect them to draft a QB in the top five. Knowing they have an out after next season on Jones’s contract, I think they’ll take the opportunity to draft a QB. Aside from any questions about Jones’s ability, he’s now missed time in two seasons for a neck injury. Everyone knows how serious those are (Peyton is a high profile example), but the Giants especially have experience with them with former first rounder David Wilson, who had to retire due to neck injuries.
Given that, and the fact that Jones has an injury clause that could push some guaranteed money into 2025, they’ll probably draft a QB and not even play Jones next year.
If giants land a top 3 pick, they should take Marvin Harrison, use the 2 2nd round picks on Bo Nix and Donovan Jackson
Bo Nix baby….pro style offense, hits his targets in stride, doesn’t look to run first but can run if need be…big guy who doesn’t scare playing in front of major crowds and publicity that Nike throws up for Oregon……
Let’s sign this guy to a contract extension 4yrs/106M But if there’s a QB we like in the 1st round they’d take him to be the heir apparent SMH Some teams throw away money like it’s nothing
This
People crack me up with prospective college QBs speculation. What comes out of the draft is a crap shoot.
Building a good offensive line usually takes 3-4 years and with certain position guys wanting big money it’s kinda hard to have enough resources for o-line due to the so called ‘skill’ positions (more glamour spots as all require skill). Teams that are doing pretty good invest in o-line which is where the New Jersey giants need to put their money.
Misery is, some teams evaluate and draft good WR or TE or DBs but suck at o-line talent which is the crutch of those giants. Haven’t draft well in providing protection.
The crappy thing for New York is that their most recent attempt to do that hasn’t worked out. Neal has looked pretty bad, but coming into the draft, he was a slam dunk prospect. Gettleman engineered the Giants’ last foray into high end free agency at the line spot, which saw a massive Nate Solder deal that was awful for the team. Their big moves haven’t always worked out, other than Thomas (even he began his career with a bumpy start as a pro before improving).
O-line seems the hardest to nail quality bodies that gel. Seems every year teams put big bucks on veteran players that bomb and it’s unusual to get one without injury habits. Though I reckon there’s no clear cut manner to decide if a player still has the desire to excel or do they just want a big payday.
I suppose it only makes sense that the Giants would want to draft a USC butt fumbler that would make the Jets jealous.
Giants are more likely to draft a QB who was a star in the SEC before he moved to Oregon.
Now that kid has some positive attributes and seems mature but he’s also got blocking
I’m not convinced that Nix is a franchise caliber quarterback. This is just my unprofessional opinion of course, but his decision making is just too haphazard for me still. He is much improved from his Auburn days, but he is also playing against lower level defenses on a team with a greater talent disparity than Auburn had.
Now, that’s not to say that Nix is awful. He has a lot of experience and is very athletic, and is capable of some really eye catching wow plays, moreso than most other quarterbacks. I just would be hesitant to endorse his occasional force it play that he still makes sometimes.
Draft all offensive linemen. 12 draft picks, 12 linemen.
The Colts had to find an heir to Peyton Manning, the Packers had to find an heir to Brett Favre. With all due respect to Daniel Jones, I don’t think his potential replacement should be described as an heir.
Savior would be more appropriate.
Joe Schoen: “Heir?…I thought Mr. Mara had given me instructions to draft an error”.