Former MVP rips Giants players after Daniel Jones saga, Buccaneers blowout

Multiple New York Giants players made it known before and after the club fell to 2-9 on the season via Sunday's brutal 30-7 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers they were unhappy with how head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen treated quarterback Daniel Jones before the Giants released Jones ahead of this past weekend. 

During Monday's edition of the WFAN morning show, one-time MVP and current NFL analyst Boomer Esiason ripped Giants players for how they handled themselves from the benching of Jones through Sunday's blowout at MetLife Stadium. 

"Everybody is upset and I understand it, but Daniel Jones needed to be benched, so get over it," Esiason said, as shared by Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "He missed wide-open guys [in his last start], didn’t pull the trigger … it was all there for him, and unfortunately, he could not pull the trigger and get it done." 

Statistically speaking, Jones was a below-average starter before he was benched for reasons related to the injury guarantee for 2025 attached to the contract he signed back in March 2023. According to ESPN stats, he began Monday ranked 28th in the NFL among qualified players with a 46.2 adjusted QBR and 32nd with a 79.4 passer rating for the season. The Giants were last in scoring even before they tallied just seven points against Tampa Bay with Tommy DeVito serving as their QB1. 

Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence raised eyebrows when he said last week he felt Jones was "the best quarterback on the team." Per Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, pass-rusher Brian Burns noted after the Tampa Bay debacle that Jones "was a leader" and "a great teammate." Offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor openly wondered if everybody in the locker room "is giving 100 percent" amid a losing season. Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers suggested "the quarterback" is not all that's wrong with the New York offense this fall. 

"The quarterback is the one who leads the entire team," Esiason continued. "He’s the one who everyone looks at … they want him to be the man, and they paid him to be the man. Unfortunately for Daniel Jones, it didn’t work out." 

Some reporters and analysts believe Giants co-owner John Mara could fire Daboll as soon as Black Friday if New York gets blown out at the 4-7 Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. Additionally, Mara reportedly could show Schoen the door if the Giants don't win at least three of their final six games. 

"The players who were left behind have to get over it," Esiason added about Jones' departure. "It’s part of the business." 

If those players don't "get over it" by Thursday afternoon, Daboll could enter December as an unemployed coach.