John Mara 'confident' Daniel Jones can lead Giants to Super Bowl

New York Giants co-owner John Mara is "confident" that quarterback Daniel Jones can guide the club to a Super Bowl while on his new contract. 

"Again, you’ve got to put the right pieces around him," Mara said about Jones while speaking with reporters at the annual league meetings, per Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "He can’t do it all by himself, but I think he showed how good a quarterback he can be last year and if we continue to improve our roster, there’s no limit on how well he can play. He has the mentality you want, too. He works hard. He’s a great leader and players really gravitate toward him, so he’s exactly what you want under center."

Jones largely shined during what was essentially a contract season while playing under first-year head coach Brian Daboll and without having a true No. 1 wide receiver on the roster. Most notably, the 25-year-old helped the Giants secure a playoff berth and earn a postseason win at the Minnesota Vikings this past January. 

It was learned on March 7 that the Giants and Jones had agreed to a four-year contract that could be worth up to $160M. That deal also includes only $82M in guaranteed money and could allow New York to move on from the signal-caller as soon as March 2025. 

"I spoke to him as the negotiations first started and I spoke to him the day that he actually signed," Mara added about Jones. "I emphasized how much we wanted him to be a Giant and how I felt it was in his best interest to sign the deal and stay here." 

The Giants held onto star running back Saquon Barkley for 2023 via the non-exclusive franchise tag and have also acquired wide receivers Parris Campbell and Jeff Smith in free agency. Mara made it known that the club has not "closed the door on" re-signing Odell Beckham Jr. this offseason, and the Giants almost certainly will add offensive weapons for Jones through the draft. 

According to ESPN stats, Jones finished this past regular season tied for sixth in the league among qualified players with a 60.8 adjusted QBR. He was 15th with 3,205 passing yards, fifth among quarterbacks with 708 rushing yards and contributed 15 passing touchdowns along with seven rushing scores across 16 games. 

Mara clearly expects Jones will improve upon those numbers following a full offseason of familiarity with Daboll's offense.