Daniel Jones’ immediate future as the New York Giants’ starting quarterback hinges strictly on the evaluation of his on-field performance and is not tied to his $23 million injury guarantee.
That was the message from general manager Joe Schoen, who said the coaching staff and front office is “going to evaluate everything” during the team’s bye week. Schoen spoke to reporters following Tuesday’s practice, which he said was a first during a bye week in three seasons under coach Brian Daboll.
“We’ll start circling up with the coaches (Wednesday) and the rest of the week and see how we can look to turn the ship as we go forward the rest of the season,” Schoen said.
The Giants are tied with Jacksonville for the worst record in the NFL and own the league’s lowest scoring offense at an average of only 15.6 per game. New York has averaged only 13.4 points during the current five-game losing streak, with the latest setback being a 20-17 overtime loss to Carolina in Germany in which Jones threw for 190 yards and no touchdowns while getting intercepted twice and posting a paltry 33.8 quarterback rating.
Daboll declined on Monday to commit to Jones remaining the starting quarterback coming out of the bye, and Schoen echoed that sentiment a day later. Asked multiple times whether a potential change could be impacted by finances and the guaranteed money that would kick in should Jones suffer a major injury, Schoen insisted all decisions would be driven by what helps the Giants win games.
“It will be a football decision,” Schoen said. “Any decisions we make moving forward as we evaluate the roster and what we’re doing for the final seven games will be football decisions.”
The Giants will play host to Tampa Bay on Nov. 24, and the starting quarterback could be Jones, Drew Lock or former undrafted free agent Tommy DeVito. Lock was signed as a free agent last offseason, while DeVito played in nine games as a rookie last year following Jones’ season-ending knee injury.
Jones has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 2,070 yards and eight touchdowns against seven interceptions. He is in the second year of a four-year, $160 million contract. He is due to earn $30 million in base salary in 2025, with $12 million becoming fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the league season.
Jones’ future with the franchise has come under increased scrutiny with Daboll and Schoen acknowledging that he might not be the starter this time next week.
“We have seven games left in this season and that’s what we’re focused on,” Schoen said. “I’m focused on 2024 and how we can get better these final seven games.”
Daboll and Schoen have come under scrutiny, as well, with the Giants mired at the bottom of the standings in their third seasons with the franchise.
Asked if he expected to return in 2025, Schoen simply stated, “Yes.” However, when asked to evaluate Daboll, Schoen didn’t offer a direct endorsement.
“We’re 2-8. So, again, we’re going to look at solutions,” Schoen said. “He’s coming in every day. He’s working hard. The team is staying together.
“He’s done a really good job, the guys are competing, keeping the locker room together. Again, there’s a lot of things that we can look at and we need to improve on and that’s what we’re going to do the rest of the week.”
–Field Level Media
