Giants GM Joe Schoen Expects To Be Back In 2025
Losers of five straight, the Giants have not won a game since John Mara issued a vote of confidence in the Joe Schoen-Brian Daboll regime. Mara offered support for the decision-makers to stay throughout this season and said he did not anticipate a change in 2025. Some around the league are skeptical of this pledge.
At 2-8, this Giants team is probably testing the owner’s patience. When asked about his future in New York, Schoen said (via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) he does expect to be back next year. The third-year GM indicated he discusses plans with ownership regularly.
“We have a really good relationship with ownership,” Schoen said, via CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. “… There’s confidence in the plan and where we’re going.”
[RELATED: Examining Giants’ Daniel Jones Situation]
Arriving after a stay as the Bills’ assistant GM, Schoen helped the Giants to a surprise playoff berth in 2022. Not much has gone right since, with the team’s front office boss taking heat due to his offseason decisions — calls magnified due to the Giants being the Hard Knocks franchise’s maiden-voyage offseason project. Both Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney are having All-Pro-caliber years. Both players hit the open market in March, as the Giants passed on a second Barkley franchise tag and did not opt to use the transition tag on McKinney.
Windfalls awaited both players, as Schoen poured resources into the offensive line (via middle-class contracts for Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor). team’s pass rush by trading for Brian Burns and extending him at a rate then second only to Nick Bosa among edge rushers. The ex-Panthers rusher’s Carolina play did not warrant such a commitment, one that now sits third at the position after Josh Hines-Allen signed a Jaguars re-up, but Burns had maximized his leverage.
Schoen has also run into scrutiny for his draft record. The team has seen 2022 No. 7 overall pick Evan Neal careen toward bust status, beginning the season as a healthy scratch after a two-season struggle at right tackle. The Giants have also not seen 2023 first-round cornerback Deonte Banks live up to expectations. Multiple warnings about a lack of effort preceded a benching against the Steelers. The Giants also stood pat at the trade deadline, not accepting any offers for contract-year cogs Darius Slayton or Azeez Ojulari — both Dave Gettleman draftees. Gettleman acquisitions — Barkley, McKinney and All-Pros Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas — have been the Giants’ top players during Schoen’s run thus far.
Daniel Jones remains the player still most closely associated with this regime. Schoen made Jones the first QB to see his option declined only to be subsequently re-signed by that team. Jones has not come close to living up to the four-year, $160MM extension — a deal that effectively led Barkley to Philadelphia — and now may be in danger of being benched so the Giants can ensure a $23MM injury guarantee for 2025 does not kick in.
When asked whether the injury guarantee would play into the club’s thinking on Jones, Schoen confirmed evaluations are ongoing but did not indicate a contract issue would drive a benching. Though, it should not exactly be expected a GM would confirm a contract matter is behind a demotion. That said, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan expects a Jones demotion to take place before the Giants’ Week 12 game.
If Schoen is to be the point man behind identifying a Jones successor next year, the Giants may need to show notable improvement down the stretch. Mara gave Gettleman four-plus seasons as GM, allowing him to hire two HCs despite no playoff berths occurring on his watch. That bodes well for Schoen, though Daboll’s future may be less secure. The 2022 Coach of the Year is the first Giants HC asked back for a third season since Tom Coughlin. Recent history points to Daboll being under more pressure than Schoen, despite the duo’s strong ties dating back to their Buffalo tenures.
Daboll: Giants Evaluating Everything During Bye Week, Including QB
The Giants have won just two of their 10 games this season, tied with the Jaguars for the worst winning percentage in the NFL.
“No one is happy with the results and where we’re at,” said head coach Brian Daboll on Monday, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Daboll refused to confirm that Daniel Jones would remain the Giants’ starting quarterback, only saying that the team was “evaluating things” heading into their bye week, according to Raanan. In past weeks, Daboll has firmly backed Jones when asked about his starting status, but his non-answer on Monday suggests that New York could be contemplating a change under center.
Daboll additionally indicated that he would be in communication with the Giants’ ownership regarding any potential decision to bench Jones, who is in the second year of a four-year, $160MM extension signed during the 2023 offseason. A benching would accelerate speculation that the Giants plan to move on from Jones after this season. An offseason release with a post-June 1 designation would save New York $30.5MM against the salary cap in 2025 and $47.5MM in 2026, with $11.1MM dead cap hits in both years, per OverTheCap.
If the Giants were to bench Jones, they would turn to either Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito. Lock is currently listed as Jones’ backup on the unofficial depth chart, but DeVito started six games last year after Jones’ season-ending ACL tear.
Jones has completed just 63.3% of his passes this year with an average of just 6.1 yards per attempt, the fifth-lowest in the NFL this year. His struggles have hindered the offense as a whole; the Giants will finish Week 10 as the lowest-scoring team in the NFL this year with just 15.6 points per game. At 2-8, their playoff hopes have virtually disappeared, forcing the franchise to consider major changes ahead of another rebuilding offseason.
Brian Daboll: Giants Not Considering Staffing Changes
The Giants fell to 2-8 on the year with today’s loss to the Panthers. New York will now prepare for the bye week, a logical point in the schedule for changes on the sidelines to be made. 
In spite of that – coupled with the Giants’ increasingly bleak prospects for the 2024 campaign – no such moves should be expected. Head coach Brian Daboll said after the game he remains confident in the team’s incumbent personnel. A turnaround in the win-loss column remains the obvious goal for the remainder of the campaign.
“I believe we’ve got the right people,”Daboll said when asked about the possibility of any changes being under consideration (video link). “Results aren’t there yet.”
The Giants entered Week 10 last in the league with an average of just 15.4 yards per game. The team did not help its average very much in that respect with a 17-point outing against Carolina. Quarterback Daniel Jones threw a pair of interceptions while in scoring range, a key factor in today’s loss. The sixth-year passer has not developed as hoped under Daboll, and it remains to be seen if he will be retained at the end of the campaign. Replacing Jones under center could be coupled with a new approach on the sidelines and/or the front office by way of moving on from general manager Joe Schoen.
Both Daboll and Schoen – in the midst of their third year together at the helm of the Giants – recently received a vote of confidence from owner John Mara. A postseason berth was not deemed mandatory ahead of the 2024 season, but improvement on last year’s 6-11 record was expected. Reaching that goal will be difficult as things stand, and executives around the league are skeptical the Daboll/Schoen pairing is firmly safe at this point.
New York has Mike Kafka (whose tenure has seen him handle and be stripped of play-calling duties) in place as offensive coordinator along with Shane Bowen in charge of the team’s defense. The latter is in his first year on Daboll’s staff, and he has overseen a strong showing in certain categories on that side of the ball. It would come as a surprise if major changes were to be made at the coordinator level based on Daboll’s remarks, although criticism will likely continue if the Giants maintain the status quo in terms of coaches coming out of their bye.
Giants Start Evan Neal At RT
Evan Neal is back in the starting lineup. After playing a grand total of two snaps over the first nine games of the 2024 season, the Giants are deploying Neal at right tackle for today’s Week 10 bout against the Panthers, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com details. Jermaine Eluemunor will line up at left tackle.
New York selected Neal with the No. 7 overall pick of the 2022 draft, though his performance over his first two years in the pros did not align with his draft status. During that time, the Alabama product started 20 games and struggled mightily, finishing as the second-worst OT in the league in each season in the estimation of Pro Football Focus’ metrics.
In Week 9 of the 2023 campaign, Neal suffered what was initially believed to be a sprained ankle, but follow-up testing became necessary after he did not heal as expected. The additional examination revealed a broken foot that required surgery, and he spent the first several weeks of this year’s training camp on the PUP list. Eluemunor, who was initially signed to compete for guard duties, built some momentum for the starting RT gig in Neal’s absence, and since the Giants quickly abandoned the notion of having Neal line up at guard, the third-year blocker landed in a reserve role.
Even when left tackle Andrew Thomas was lost for the season due to a foot injury of his own, New York opted to keep Eluemunor on the right side while giving LT reps first to Joshua Ezeudu and then to recent signee Chris Hubbard (Neal has not been considered a legitimate option for game action on the blind side). But there is a reason Hubbard was available to be signed off the 49ers’ practice squad in October, and he did not play particularly well during his two-game audition with Big Blue. It therefore makes sense for a 2-7 Giants club to see if Neal can begin living up to his potential at RT. Indeed, the team did not consider trading Neal in advance of this year’s deadline.
Although Neal is eligible for a new contract at season’s end, even an outstanding performance down the stretch of the 2024 campaign would likely not be enough for the New York front office (regardless of who is leading it) to make such a move. However, a strong showing could at least encourage the club to exercise Neal’s fifth-year option.
Carolina, another 2-7 outfit, represented a logical opponent for Neal’s first extensive 2024 work, as the Panthers’ edge defenders are not a particularly imposing group.
Giants Activate K Graham Gano
Graham Gano will be available to the Giants in Week 10. The veteran kicker was activated from injured reserve on Saturday, per a team announcement. 
Gano has been out since he injured his hamstring on the opening kickoff of New York’s Week 2 game. The team operated without a healthy kicker for the rest of that contest, then turned to veteran Greg Joseph with Gano being moved to IR. Once Joseph suffered an injury of his own, the Giants relied on Jude McAtamney in his NFL debut last week.
The former Gaelic footballer converted his lone field goal try and connected on his only extra point attempt as well. While McAtameny also recorded four touchbacks on five kickoffs, the Giants will of course prefer to keep him on the practice squad with Gano back in the fold. The latter was limited to eight games by a knee injury last year, so this season’s missed time has become increasingly notable for team and player. Both parties will hope Gano can remain healthy through the remainder of the campaign.
The 37-year-old has generally been a consistent producer in the kicking game for the Giants since his arrival in 2020. Gano only connected on 11 of his 17 field goal tries last year before undergoing season-ending surgery, a stark contrast to his accuracy in his previous New York campaigns. Returning to his previous form would be welcomed by Gano and the Giants, a team averaging a league-low 15.4 points per game.
The Florida State product landed an extension last September, and he is on the books through 2026 as a result. This season is the last one of that pact which includes guaranteed salary, and the team would see cap savings by moving on as early as this spring. Gano’s performance beginning tomorrow in Munich will go a long way in ensuring his Giants future.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/24
Today’s minor moves, including standard gameday practice squad elevations:
Arizona Cardinals
- Elevated: CB Divaad Wilson
Atlanta Falcons
- Elevated: WR Chris Blair, OLB Khalid Kareem
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: WR Tyrell Shavers, WR K.J. Hamler
- Placed on IR: LB Baylon Spector
Chicago Bears
- Activated from IR: G Ryan Bates (story)
- Elevated: T Jake Curhan, LB Carl Jones Jr.
Dallas Cowboys
- Elevated: CB Josh Butler, WR Jalen Cropper
Denver Broncos
- Activated from IR: C Luke Wattenberg
- Elevated: FB Michael Burton, LB Zach Cunningham
Detroit Lions
- Signed to active roster: LB Abraham Beauplan, OLB Al-Quadin Muhammad, TE Shane Zylstra
- Elevated: T Jamarco Jones, LB Zeke Turner
- Placed on IR: LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
- Waived: DE Isaiah Thomas
Houston Texans
- Elevated: DT Tommy Togiai
Indianapolis Colts
- Elevated: WR Laquon Treadwell
Kansas City Chiefs
- Elevated: LB Cole Christiansen, WR Justyn Ross
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed to active roster: TE Tucker Fisk
- Elevated: CB Eli Apple, OLB Caleb Murphy
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: DT Brandon Pili
Minnesota Vikings
- Elevated: LS Jake McQuaide
New England Patriots
- Elevated: LB Joe Giles-Harris, TE Mitchell Wilcox
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: WR Kevin Austin, WR Dante Pettis
New York Giants
- Elevated: LB Curtis Bolton, WR Isaiah Hodgins
New York Jets
- Elevated: K Spencer Shrader
San Francisco 49ers
- Elevated: S Tashaun Gipson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from IR: LS Evan Deckers
- Elevated: WR Marquez Callaway, LB Vi Jones
- Waived: LS Zach Triner
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: C Corey Levin, S Daryl Worley
Washington Commanders
- Signed to active roster: RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.
- Elevated: K Zane Gonzalez, DE Efe Obada
- Placed on IR: TE Colson Yankoff
Spector will miss at least the next four games as a result of the Bills’ move. He has remained a mainstay on special teams this year, having also done so in 2022 and ’23. The former seventh-rounder has made three starts on defense, however, so his absence will be felt moving forward. Linebacker has been a position hit hard by injuries this season, and Buffalo’s depth at the second level will now be tested even further.
Wattenberg had his 21-day practice window opened by the Broncos earlier this week, paving the way for today’s activation. The 27-year-old operated as the team’s starting center prior to going down after having won a summer competition for the gig with Alex Forsyth. Forsyth handled first-team duties over the past four games, drawing a superior PFF evaluation and therefore potentially playing his way into an extended look atop the depth chart. At a minimum, having Wattenberg back will give Denver – a team with three IR activations left – depth up front.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/7/24
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Waived: DT Zion Logue
Cincinnati Bengals
- Elevated: T Devin Cochran, TE Cam Grandy
Chicago Bears
- Placed on IR: DL Andrew Billings (story), DB Jaylon Jones
- Signed from practice squad: DB Tarvarius Moore
Detroit Lions
- Waived: WR Isaiah Williams
Miami Dolphins
- Designated for return from IR: S Patrick McMorris
New York Giants
- Removed from IR via injury settlement: K Greg Joseph
Logue will lose his roster spot after the Bills signed both Quinton Jefferson and Jordan Phillips on Wednesday. Both vets landed on Buffalo’s active roster. A sixth-round Falcons draftee this year, Logue had caught on with the Bills last month; Buffalo signed the rookie off Atlanta’s practice squad. Logue played 36 defensive snaps with the Bills.
Joseph, who has been with four teams since 2024 began, will head back into free agency. The length of his injury settlement will determine how quickly he can join a team. The three-year Vikings kicker signed with the Packers in free agency and landed with the Lions’ practice squad shortly after not making Green Bay’s 53-man roster. The Giants had signed Joseph off the Detroit taxi squad after Graham Gano‘s injury. Gano is in the IR-return window now, and New York used former Irish Gaelic footballer Jude McAtamney against Washington last week. McAtamney is back on the Giants’ practice squad.
NFC East Notes: Giants, Slayton, Ojulari, McCloud, Cowboys, Mingo
Despite rumored trade interest, the Giants were not interested in dealing wide receiver Darius Slayton at the trade deadline, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
The 2-7 Giants were thought to be sellers at the deadline as they ponder the team’s future, especially at the quarterback position. Slayton is set to be a free agent after the season and New York has yet to explore an extension with their 2019 fifth-round pick, so a trade could have recouped some value for the Giants if they were planning to part ways in the offseason.
Not only has Slayton been extremely consistent in the NFL, with at least 45.0 yards per game in four of his five seasons, he is on pace for one of the best seasons of his career with 32 catches for 469 yards through nine games. While he doesn’t have the same pedigree as other receivers who were moved at the deadline like Amari Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins, Slayton was statistically outperforming both players even though all three were dealing with uneven quarterback play.
But rather than enter the active receiver trade market, the Giants held onto Slayton. It’s possible the team wants to keep him in New York past this season, but they may also be trying to field the most competitive team possible for the rest of the season. They declined to trade Saquon Barkley at the 2023 deadline for the same reason, per Raanan.
- The Giants also held firm on outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, fielding calls but refusing to accept any offers below a mid-round pick, per Raanan. Other teams felt that New York was overvaluing the 2021 second-rounder, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. Ojulari ranks 13th in the NFL with 6.0 sacks this year but has benefitted from less attention and easier matchups while playing alongside Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence.
- Big Blue’s only move on deadline day was to waive cornerback Nick McCloud after he refused to take a pay cut from his $3MM salary. New York was already hoping to reduce McCloud’s salary entering the season and intensified its demand for a pay cut after a Week 1 knee injury, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan. Their final offer was a pay cut to the veteran minimum salary, which McCloud declined.
- The Cowboys surprised the NFL by sending a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Panthers in exchange for wide receiver Jonathan Mingo, the 39th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, plus a 2025 seventh-rounder. The move was considered an overpay, but the Cowboys saw additional value in Mingo’s remaining years on his rookie contract, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. He is under contract through 2026 for just over $4MM, but has yet to live up to his draft billing with just 2.3 receptions and 22.5 yards per game through 24 career appearances. Dallas, however, believes they can unlock Mingo’s potential and consider him more valuable than any potential fourth-rounder in the 2025 draft, according to Graziano.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/6/24
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from injured reserve: DT Jaden Crumedy
- Waived: DT Nick Thurman
Chicago Bears
- Signed to active roster: DB Ameer Speed
Houston Texans
- Claimed off waivers: T Zachary Thomas
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed to active roster: DL Jalen Redmond
New Orleans Saints
- Opened 21-day practice window: S Will Harris
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: CB Art Green
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Designated to return from injured reserve: WR Ben Skowronek
San Francisco 49ers
- Opened 21-day practice window: DE Yetur Gross-Matos
Gross-Matos was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on October 5, sidelining him for San Francisco’s last four games. He now has 21 days to practice with the team before he must be added back to the activ roster or revert to season-ending IR. He signed a two-year, $18MM contract with the 49ers in the offseason but struggled with his new team with just one tackle in 81 snaps across three appearances.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/6/24
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: S Russ Yeast
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: S Alex Cook, WR Cam Johnson
- Released: LB Chandler Wooten
Houston Texans
- Signed: DT Jayden Peevy
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Cole Christiansen
- Released: RB Emani Bailey
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Shaquille Quarterman, TE Eric Tomlinson
- Released: TE McCallan Castles
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: T Ryan Hayes
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DL Ryder Anderson
New York Giants
- Signed: P Matt Haack, OL Bryan Hudson
- Released: T Joshua Miles
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DL Domenique Davis, TE Matt Sokol
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Russell Gage
- Released: WR Malik Turner
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Jamie Sheriff
While a few players in today’s roundup are catching back on with teams after being cut from their respective club’s active roster, the 49ers are adding Gage. This marks the veteran wideout’s first gig since the Ravens cut him following training camp. Gage, who totaled 700-plus-yard seasons with the Falcons in 2020 and 2021, did not justify a three-year, $30MM Buccaneers contract. The 28-year-old receiver has not played in a regular-season game since suffering a season-nullifying knee injury — a patellar tendon rupture — during Bucs camp in 2023.