The call came in on a Thursday night. Shortly after the 2024 draft was released, Daniel Jones was given probation in the news.
And since it went that way, Jones will live another day, or season, and it’s up to him to make the most of the reprieve he’s been given.
In this case, it was not the governor who granted the pardon. Rather, it was Patriots scouting director Elliott Wolfe who ultimately ended any inquiries about trading away the No. 3 overall pick. The Giants, coveting quarterback Drake Maye, made a bid for what is believed to be this year’s No. 6 pick, a second-round pick (47th overall) and a 2025 first-round pick. . In reality, there was nothing stopping the Patriots from acquiring Maye other than a ridiculous trade offer.
“We had some conversations with other teams, but ultimately we felt like Drake was the player we wanted and we had a chance to get him,” Wolf said.
May was the player Pat wanted. For the Giants, Jones is their player…what? Are you stuck? Do you want to solve it? Are you reluctantly going to continue for another year? Are you excited to have them at quarterback in 2024?
If the deal had worked out and Maye had worn Giants blue, he likely wouldn’t have been handed the reins of the offense on Opening Day. Jones would have maintained his starting role as long as his rehabilitation from anterior cruciate ligament surgery was complete and successful. But if Jones’ four-year, $160 million contract could be released after this season (for “only” $22 million in dead money), the message would have been clear and concise: Jones is here now. But Mei is the final replacement.
That scenario didn’t come true, but that doesn’t mean the attempt didn’t happen. Jones knows that. General manager Joe Schon and coach Brian Daboll know that. Of course, Shane wasn’t going to go into detail about his conversation with the Patriots, nor did he actually acknowledge it. Anytime a team acquires a future first-round pick, it’s a serious offer with serious intentions.
The Giants thought the trade probably wouldn’t go through. They weren’t all that desperate to replace Jones and decided to take a quarterback (JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., or Bo Nix) at No. 6 that they believed had no value in that spot. He was proactive. They knew they could hang in there and get a top-end wide receiver, and they believed Malik Nabors would be the difference-maker. They got better by having him. And they know they have to try to get along with Jones, at least this season.
can you do that? Could Jones stay healthy and benefit from the way Nabors upgrades the offensive line and perhaps strengthens the passing game overall with Daboll taking over offensive play-calling? Jones received a text message from Schoen before Nabors’ selection was announced, alerting him that the Giants had added a big weapon. What he didn’t say out loud, but what was understood in that communication: Daniel, we’ve acquired a wide receiver. That means they didn’t trade up for a quarterback. That means you are one of us again.
Sugar coating this won’t do anyone any good. Jones needs to embrace what the Giants tried to do on draft night and use that as fuel for his return. Be defiant. Outwardly, Jones has nothing to show for it. He has to do everything in his power to send the message to the Giants that, in his mind, it would be foolhardy to replace him. The deck may be stacked against him, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a shot.
Daboll has been speaking with the team daily during offseason practices, specifically meeting with quarterbacks Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito. Anxiety can be common during this time.
“You’re just being transparent with the entire team about the entire draft process,” Daboll said. “You’re trying to improve your team. You know, in our last meeting, I showed you a picture here of all the area scouts and Joe and his leadership group, and part of their role is to improve the competition. It’s about helping the football team improve by producing.”
Translation: We are always looking for better players to replace the players we already have.
“If you’re sitting there and you’re in the receiver room and we draft Malik Nabors, there’s a human element to it as well,” Daboll said. “We have the draft every year. We have free agency every year. We start the meeting with the new players who weren’t here last year standing up and the players that Joe and his staff drafted also standing up. It’s different every year. The team is different. The structure is different.”
There is no difference in the structure of the quarterback position at this time. The Giants did not source Jones’ eventual replacement. It wasn’t for lack of trying.
