Questions about quarterback Daniel Jones' future loom over the New York Giants.
Jones is in the second year of a four-year, $160M deal, which includes a $23M injury guarantee in 2025. Along with a disappointing 2-8 start, that could convince the Giants to bench him in favor of Drew Lock after their bye week.
During his Tuesday news conference, Giants general manager Joe Schoen said they're still evaluating Jones' future but won't let the guarantee influence a "football decision."
"It will be a football decision," Schoen said. "Any decisions we make moving forward and what we're doing for the final seven games will be football decisions."
Joe Schoen says any decisions made about Daniel Jones' status as starting quarterback will be "football decisions" pic.twitter.com/81Zf4CRXbh
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) November 12, 2024
Don't buy Schoen's comment. Jones' contract probably will impact their choice.
Cutting or trading Jones with a post-June 1 designation in 2025 would incur an $11.105M cap hit but yield $30.500M in cap savings, per OverTheCap.com.
Sticking with Jones doesn't make sense for the Giants, either. Through 10 starts this season, Jones has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 2,070 yards, eight TDs and seven picks and has posted a below-average 46.3 QBR.
Aside from leading New York to the playoffs in 2022, Jones has struggled to meet expectations in six seasons with the club. The 2019 No. 6 overall pick has a 24-44-1 starting record in the regular season.
During his Monday news conference, Giants head coach Brian Daboll was noncommittal about starting Jones for the rest of the season.
"I would guess we don't see Daniel Jones play another down for the Giants," ESPN's Adam Schefter said of Daboll's comments Tuesday on "Unsportsmanlike." "Because Brian Daboll's tone was different than it was in other weeks. It was always 'Daniel Jones is our starter, Daniel Jones is our starter,' and then yesterday, 'We're evaluating everything.'"
Schoen certainly knows the club should consider moving on from the QB. It's the right decision for football and financial reasons.
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