Daniel Jones' first day of reduced time with the Giants arrived on Wednesday, but Jones was in the building, in meetings, on the practice field (while doing little) and had no involvement in the game plan for games. It wasn't. For the next game, he will be demoted to a non-playing role for the remainder of the season.
Jones is now the No. 3, and possibly No. 4, quarterback behind newly minted starter Tommy DeVito, backup Drew Lock and practice squad addition Tim Boyle. Sometimes, if a starter is benched and injury coverage is written into the contract, the player may be asked, or at least allowed, to leave the team. So far, that hasn't happened with Jones and the Giants.
“Look, Daniel's a professional. He's a good teammate for us,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “This is the role he has now for us and we are happy to have him as part of our team.”
Jones was on the practice field on a cloudy afternoon. The Giants (2-8) are preparing for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers (4-6) at MetLife Stadium.
In the early stages of exposure to the media, he didn't do much to break a sweat. Jones watched the other three quarterbacks practice individually, then threw the ball with them and threw a few passes to receivers who were standing there.
How this would work is DeVito would get all the first-team reps, Lock would run the scout team as a backup like he's done all season, and Jones and Boyle would take part in individual practices. The idea is to throw to the receiver and run a route.
This means more than just a spot on the bench for Jones, as the Giants need to make sure Jones doesn't get hurt in order to guarantee his $23 million injury in 2025 if he suffers a major injury. As such, there will be no full-scale practice for Jones, who will likely be better off protected by bubble wrap whenever he is at the team facility.
“It's not an easy situation, I understand that,” Daboll said.
Jones, 27, was informed of his permanent demotion on Monday. Daboll said Jones attended Wednesday's meeting with a “good attitude.”
This is an adjustment for everyone involved. Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who was a classmate of Jones in the 2019 draft, said Tuesday that he believes Jones is the best quarterback on the team but doesn't understand why the move was made. Lawrence and Jones are best friends.
“I have a lot of respect for Dex,” Daboll said. “Dex has been Daniel's teammate for a while and we have a very good relationship. Look, not everyone will agree with this decision and I understand that.”
As for how this decision will play out in the locker room, Daboll said that despite the quarterback change and the business motive behind ensuring Jones never takes the field again, it's business as usual. He seemed confident.
“There's a lot of confidence in our locker room,” Daboll said. “We've got a tight-knit group. Obviously, it's not where we wanted it to be, but we have a lot of confidence in the players, the coaches and the chemistry that we have.”
It's certainly possible the Giants opt to inactivate Jones on game day and name Boyle the emergency third quarterback, or go with just two quarterbacks in DeVito and Lock.
If Jones doesn't take the field or record another hit for the Giants — which is certainly expected — his final numbers will be depressing and alarmingly lacking. In the six years he was the starting pitcher, the Giants won one game. His overall record is 22-44-1 and has been trending downward and downward since the 2022 season. At the time, Jones was a solid, humble but successful game manager for a team that went 9-7-1 and made the playoffs. game.
Since signing a four-year, $160 million contract in March 2023, Jones has been limited to a 3-13 season and played in just six games due to a neck injury and subsequent torn ACL. .
Jones completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 14,582 yards, 70 touchdowns and 47 interceptions, completing the Giants' season. He also scored 15 touchdowns and was sacked 208 times. His career passer rating is 84.3.
His last game wasn't even in the U.S., in Week 10, a 20-17 overtime loss to the Panthers in Munich, where he made two interceptions in the red zone.
