Giants had no contract talks with Daniel Jones during bye week

It appears New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen wasn't worried about locking quarterback Daniel Jones down via an extension earlier this month. 

ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported Tuesday that Jones told the Worldwide Leader that "there were no contract talks between the organization and his representatives prior to Schoen's self-imposed deadline." Raanan was referencing how Schoen said he could explore contract extensions for Jones and running back Saquon Barkley during the bye week that followed New York's 27-13 loss at the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 30. 

"If I did, this would be the week I would want to entertain it, during the bye week, and then I probably wouldn’t do anything after that," Schoen explained at that time. 

Schoen has been in his role since January and wasn't associated with the Giants when the club selected Jones with a first-round draft pick in the spring of 2019. Big Blue declined the fifth-year option attached to Jones' rookie contract earlier this year, and the 25-year-old responded to that development by producing his best pro season to date while playing under first-year head coach Brian Daboll. 

According to ESPN stats, Jones heads into Week 12 of the campaign ninth among qualified quarterbacks with a 58.2 total QBR. He's also 22nd with 1,937 passing yards and has thrown only nine touchdown passes across 10 games, although he has added 437 rushing yards (good for fifth among signal-callers) and four scores on the ground. 

Barkley, like Jones, is out of contract after the season, and Raanan noted that the ball-carrier "seems like a prime candidate for the franchise tag in back-to-back years." 

Raanan also pointed out that Jones likely could earn a better deal on the open market in March 2023 than the two-year, $28 million contract that included $21 million in guaranteed money Jameis Winston received from the New Orleans Saints this past offseason. 

"While far from perfect, he's young and ascending, and upward of 12 teams will need new quarterbacks next season," former NFL executive and current ESPN insider Mike Tannenbaum said of Jones for Raanan's piece. "The ball-security issue that plagued him over his first three seasons [36 fumbles] is largely under control this year."

Jones and the 7-3 Giants next play at the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys in a massive NFC East showdown on Thanksgiving Day.