One year removed from committing $92 million in guaranteed money to Daniel Jones, New York Giants owner John Mara isn’t necessarily committed to the quarterback currently leading his roster.
Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, where the Giants are slated to select No. 6 overall, Mara says he’s putting the decision whether to move up the board to go and select Jones’ successor in general manager Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll’s hands.
“If they fall in love with a quarterback and believe that it’s worth pick No. 6 or moving up, I certainly would support that,” Mara told reporters at the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando. “I let the general manager and the head coach build the roster.”
Mara’s move underscores his desire to take the next step as a franchise, one year removed from losing a divisional playoff game to the Philadelphia Eagles and on the heels of a disastrous 2023 season that saw the Giants limp to a 6-11 season.
Jones’ season came to an end in Week 9 of the 2023 campaign after tearing his ACL, and Mara believes that even if the Giants see one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s class slide to them at No. 6, or trade up, it wouldn’t preclude both from being on the roster come September.
“Let them both compete,” Mara told reporters.
New York Giants’ John Mara Not Settling at Quarterback
The 2024 NFL Draft serves as a litmus test, of sorts, for just how committed the New York Giants are to Jones.
It’s worth remembering that neither Schoen or Daboll drafted Jones, and the general manager-head coach duo is coming off a significant step backward in 2023 which could add motivation to select a quarterback of their choosing next month.
Meanwhile, Mara does not sound like an owner resting on the laurels of moving forward with Jones simply because of his contract.
“I don’t think it has any effect,” Mara said. “If they have a conviction on a quarterback and they fall in love with a quarterback, I’m certainly not going to stand in the way. Everybody in the building wants Daniel to succeed, but you can never let that get in the way of” landing a “franchise-type player.”
Jones has completed 64.3 percent of his career passing attempts for 12,512 yards with 62 touchdowns to 40 interceptions but has made just one postseason appearance, with one victory since being chosen No. 6 overall in the 2019 draft.
Depending on how the top of the board plays out, the Giants could potentially be a team to watch to trade up for Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, whom multiple reports suggest New York has been enamored with during the pre-draft process.
It doesn’t sound like Mara would stand in the way of Schoen and Daboll trading up, if they believe McCarthy offers more upside than Jones in coming years.
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