A former teammate had words of encouragement for Daniel Jones following his release and also got a dig in against the New York Giants.
Jones, the sixth overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, requested his release after being benched in favor of Tommy DeVito. The Giants, who are 2-8 and going nowhere fast, didn’t want to risk a serious injury to Jones because he had a guaranteed $23 million injury clause in his contract for 2025.
Jones will go on waivers, and it’s unlikely he will be claimed, as he’s still owed $12 million for the rest of the season. Once he goes unclaimed, he will become a free agent and will be free to sign with any team.
It wasn’t the tenure Jones and the Giants expected. Jones was supposed to be the next face of the franchise after Eli Manning’s retirement. Instead, it was a disappointment-filled six seasons.
As starting quarterback, Jones finished with a 24-44-1 record, throwing 70 touchdowns and 47 interceptions. He only had one year when he and the Giants finished above .500, and that was in 2022 when they surprisingly made the playoffs.
Following that season, the Giants decided to hand Jones a four-year, $160 million contract that he was never able to live up to.
Now, with Jones out of New York, Saquon Barkley had some uplifting words for his former teammate.
Saquon Barkley believes Daniel Jones will be able to find a ‘fresh start’
Barkley and Jones were Giants teammates for five seasons from 2019-2023. New York foolishly decided to let Barkley get away last offseason, when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. All Barkley has done is become an MVP candidate with a league-leading 1,347 scrimmage yards and 10 total touchdowns.
Barkley told reporters Friday that he believes his friend will be able to find success elsewhere.
“I’ve been in contact with him. Our friendship has stayed close throughout the whole process of me being here,” Barkley said, via ESPN.com. “It sucks to see how everything went down for him over there. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about him. You’re not going to really find anybody that can say negative things about him.
“It’s the NFL. Hopefully, wherever he ends up next, they’re going to get a guy who comes in and work. It didn’t work for me over there, and I’m doing well over here. Hopefully, he can find the same fresh start and success.”
It remains to be seen where Jones will land, but there are plenty of quarterback-needy teams right now, including the Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers.