NFL Network analyst Rich Eisen, who on a recent edition of his Rich Eisen Show made a case for the New York Giants having errored in their decision to pay quarterback Daniel Jones ahead of running back Saquon Barkley, was out with a new bold statement about the Giants quarterback based on what he heard at last week's combine.
Eisen stated that the Giants, who gave Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million contract but who have yet to get any return on that investment thanks to the quarterback's regression last year before a season-ending knee injury, are "absolutely done" with Jones.
Eisen, who on his March 4 show shared the top five rumors he heard during last week's NFL combine, made the bold statement about 5:29 into the 13-minute video.
"Done," Eisen said. "Might have to play him this year... The words I heard at the combine multiple times, two words were 'buyer's remorse.'"
General manager Joe Schoen, who represented the franchise during media interviews last week, has said that the expectation is for Jones, once recovered from a torn ACL, to be the starter.
However, with some uncertainty about when Jones will get the green light from the medical people, Schoen also said that the team has to add to its quarterback room and that he let Jones know that would be the case, citing the quarterback's injury.
Eisen, who has been critical of the Giants' decision to pay the quarterback, noted that Schoen and the Giants "have to say what they say publicly."
Schoen has been careful to avoid criticizing Jones's play last year, which appeared to regress even before he suffered his second neck injury in the last three years and the season-ending torn ACL.
The general manager pointed to the injuries that engulfed the team and how Jones only had the benefit of playing with running back Saquon Barkley, left tackle Andrew Thomas, and tight end Darren Waller for about 40 snaps in the six games the quarterback took the field.
That said, Eisen continues to ignore the fact that the Giants, perhaps concerned about Jones even before signing him to the new contract, put an escape hatch after the second year of the deal which, while potentially costly to the Giants if they need to use it, should be the clearest sign of all about how the team really feels about Jones.
Regarding the quarterback position, Schoen has left his options open regarding how he plans to restock the cupboard, in which only Jones and DeVito are under contract for 2024.
And while it's not in his nature to publicly rip or put down a player, Schoen did admit when he spoke to reporters at the end of last season that Jones's injury history has to be taken into consideration regarding the future and that no one had a crystal ball regarding when Jones might be ready or if he'd be able to avoid injuries moving forward.
Jones is due to count for $47.105 million this season, a team-high 18.2 percent of the 2024 salary cap. The Giants, however, can get out of the deal after this season, at which point, if they made Jones a standard transaction, they'd save $19.395 million but take a whopping $22.21 million dead money hit.
If the Giants were to make Jones a post-June 1 transaction, the savings would be $30.5 million with a $11.105 million dead money charge in 2025 and 2026.
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