Giants legend shares Daniel Jones suggestion for upcoming Bills game

Retired running back, New York Giants legend and CBS Sports NFL analyst Tiki Barber believes the club should at least consider sitting quarterback Daniel Jones for the upcoming "Sunday Night Football" game at the 3-2 Buffalo Bills. 

"If he can’t stay healthy because of the hits this quarterback is taking, then this $40M a year contract gets wasted," Barber said about Jones during Monday's edition of the WFAN "Evan and Tiki" program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "Daniel Jones is durable, he’s tough, he’s strong, you love the kid because of how he wants to be a winner. But he’s getting obliterated, and I don’t know if I would want him back there with this offensive line." 

Jones signed a four-year contract in March that could be worth up to $160M but took beatings over the season's first five games and left Sunday's 31-16 loss at the Miami Dolphins with a worrisome neck injury. As shared by Jordan Raanan of ESPN, Giants head coach Brian Daboll told reporters Monday he's "optimistic" Jones will be good to go against Buffalo. 

Jones took 10 sacks in the Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and was sacked six times against Miami while playing behind an awful offensive line. According to ESPN stats, only Sam Howell of the Washington Commanders took more sacks (29) than Jones (28) over the campaign's first five weeks. 

Jones missed the final six games of the 2021 season due to a neck issue and underwent a procedure on his neck the subsequent offseason. Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post noted that Giants backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor had the wind knocked out of him against Miami but presumably would start against Buffalo if Jones either can't play or is protected to fight another day. 

"You almost don’t want him back there for his health and his safety," Barber added about Jones. "The Giants need to do something different, otherwise he’s not gonna make it through the season … It’s malpractice what they’re doing with him and the offensive line. It is so bad, I would be scared to be back there." 

As of Monday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the 1-4 Giants as 14-point underdogs for the matchup at Buffalo. With some already assuming the Giants will be sellers ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline, sitting Jones for a week could ultimately be the right business decision for a team that seemingly is going nowhere fast this fall.