Assessing the decisions, and whether moving on from Jones was feasible earlier
The Daniel Jones’ era as New York Giants franchise quarterback is over. Whether it ends officially this week with Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito announced as the starter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12, a few weeks from now or in the offseason the time has come for the Giants to take another swing at finding the top-tier franchise quarterback teams need in today’s NFL.
As we concluded our position-by-position bye week look at the state of the Giants’ roster, let’s discuss the decisions by GM Joe Schoen landed the Giants where they are quarterback. We will also delve into where they might be headed.
Current roster: Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito
Players drafted since 2022: None
Biggest free agent acquisitions: Tyrod Taylor; Drew Lock
Biggest losses: Tyrod Taylor
How we got here
A question I have seen often is how did it take the Giants nearly six full seasons to get to the point where they knew they had to move on from Jones?
For the purposes of this discussion, nothing matters before Schoen and Brian Daboll came to the Giants after the 2021 season. The decisions to focus on are the ones Schoen made after he arrived.
Schoen and Brian Daboll weren’t hired to run Jones out of town. They were hired to work with him and make a decision about whether or not the Giants could go forward with him.
For what it’s worth, here are some of the non-Jones options available during the 2022 offseason. Nothing there to get excited about.
Schoen chose not to pick up Jones’ fifth-year option that offseason. While he might have wanted that decision back after Jones had his career-best 2022 season and the Giants made the playoffs, it was the right call at the time.
After that 2022 season, Jones wasn’t going anywhere. Lamar Jackson wasn’t leaving the Baltimore Ravens in free agency, and the Giants weren’t going to be anywhere near position to draft Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, or Anthony Richardson.
The Giants option: Ride with Jones for at least the short term, or let him go and start Tyrod Taylor. Schoen chose the former. Honestly, does anyone think ownership was going to sign off on any other decision after the 2022 season?
Schoen chose to sign Jones to that four-year, $160 million contract rather than use the $32 million franchise tag on him, instead tagging Saquon Barkley for about $11 million. My view has always been that the contract Schoen got Jones to sign, with only two years of guaranteed money, was a best-case scenario as a hedge that Jones would not be the long-term answer.
That was always a two-year ‘prove it’ deal for Jones. He has proven that the Giants need a different answer at the position.
We saw clearly last offseason that Schoen and Daboll were ready to lay the groundwork for turning the page on Jones. They were willing to trade up for Jayden Daniels, but the Washington Commanders were never going to do that. They tried to trade up for Drake Maye, but the New England Patriots didn’t take the bait.
The Giants passed on the opportunity to draft J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix or Bo Nix at No. 6. Whether they end up with egg on their face because of that decision won’t truly be determined for years to come.
Jones has played efficiently at times this season. He has played with courage. He has taken care of the ball. He has, though, missed too many opportunities. He has made too many mistakes at critical moments. With a competent offensive line, good receivers and a solid running game he has still led the Giants to a league-low 15.6 points per game.
He has proven that his limitations are the biggest thing holding the Giants’ offense back.
What next?
Maybe the Giants have a new quarterback this Sunday when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That seems like the right move. Maybe, though, they won’t. No matter. That doesn’t really impact what they Giants have to do this offseason — which is forge another way forward at the quarterback position.
The Giants currently hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Where will they be when the season ends? Nobody knows.
Consensus as of now is that there are three quarterbacks truly worthy of being selected early — Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, Jalen Milroe.
Will the Giants be able to land one? Will they love one enough to make the move if they have the chance? Even if they do, they probably need some type of veteran placeholder quarterback. Could Lock or DeVito fill that role?
Will the Giants end up missing out on or bypassing one of those three quarterback? If so, do they sign a Sam Darnold type in free agency, take a flier on a Day 2 quarterback, and keep the option of taking a bigger swing down the road?
Schoen has said the Giants are “not far off.” When he says he believes the Giants can take a big leap in 2025, what he means is clear. Get the right quarterback, things will look much better.
His job, if he gets to keep it beyond Week 18 of this season, will depend on him getting the answer to the quarterback question right.
