Reporter reveals when Giants could escape Daniel Jones contract

It's been thought since the New York Giants signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year contract in March reportedly worth up to $160M that the deal is essentially a two-year agreement with options.

NFL reporter Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post shared specifics about the contract on Wednesday. 

"If the Giants wanted to move on from Jones before next season, the dead-cap charge would be $69.3M, compared to $47.1M to keep him around, according to Spotrac," Dunleavy noted. "...The window for a break-up is before the 2025 season, but it’s still not a clean split. Jones would count for $22.2M in dead money, but $19.4M would be saved."

Giants general manager Joe Schoen hoped Jones would take additional positive steps following the best season of his career while playing under head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka for a second consecutive campaign. That wasn't the case over the past month as the Giants fell to 1-3 heading into this Sunday's game at the 3-1 Miami Dolphins. 

Per ESPN stats, Jones ended Week 4 with a league-worst six interceptions on the season (tied with Jimmy Garoppolo of the Las Vegas Raiders). The 26-year-old enters Week 5 ranked 27th in the NFL among qualified players with a 37.0 adjusted QBR and 33rd with a 69.7 passer rating, and he appeared downright overmatched while playing behind a terrible offensive line in Monday's 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

"A rookie quarterback contract in its second year is not going to count that much against the cap, so, in the end, the combined amount spent on a quarterback change in 2025 would be less than Jones' $41.6M cap charge," Dunleavy continued. "The Giants paid $23M to Eli Manning to be a backup (behind Jones) for 14 games in 2019."

The Giants obviously aren't giving up on Jones after 16 quarters of football that included New York featuring multiple terrible performances from his pass protection. If, however, he continues to struggle and lose through November, talk of the Giants possibly drafting Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans next spring will go from internet murmurs to legitimate chatter before Christmas.