The New York Giants committed to Daniel Jones as their franchise quarterback before the season with a four-year, $160 million contact. Just months into the deal, Jones’ future in New York is reportedly now an open question around the NFL.
New York later doubled down on its investment in Jones, restructuring his contract to create more cap space in 2023 while pushing money back into the future. Both decisions faced some criticism, with analysts believing the franchise had paid Jones too early for one season of quality production.
- Daniel Jones contract: $47.105 million cap hit in 2024, $41.605 million cap hit in 2025, $58.605 million cap hit in 2026
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In 2022 with head coach Brian Daboll, Jones set career-highs in passer rating (92.5) completion rate (67.2 percent), QBR (62.9), yards per attempt (6.8) and wins (nine). He also became an integral part of New York’s rushing attack, setting personal bests in rushing yards (708), touchdowns (seven) and first downs (57).
As a result, the Giants extended Jones and placed the franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley. Less than a year later, it now seems increasingly possible that Jones could be the one without a long-term future in New York.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, both Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen are “widely considered” to be safe heading into next season by sources inside the organization and around the NFL. With their jobs secured, the expectation around the league is that the Giants won’t hesitate to draft a quarterback atop the 2024 NFL Draft.
Entering NFL games today, New York would have the third overall pick. It would put them in a position to potentially trade up for a top-two pick, allowing them to draft either North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye or USC Trojans star Caleb Williams.
Williams and Maye are both viewed as generation talents and pro-ready starters who could easily surpass Jones’ production. Not only are both quarterbacks great athletes, but their passing skills coming out of college are held in higher regard than Jones’ throwing ability.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network also noted that Schoen has been attending numerous college football games this year, evaluating the 2024 quarterback class. Among the games the Giants’ general manager attended in person were Maye’s matchup on Sep. 2 against South Carolina and the head-to-head battle between Williams and Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on Nov. 4.
Fortunately for New York, it structured Jones’ contract to make it easier to move on from. While. he carries a $47.1 million cap hit in 2024, the Giants could release Jones in 2024 without experiencing a catastrophic cap hit long-term.
If Jones is designated as a pre-June 1 release, it would leave a $69.315 million dead cap charge on the Giants’ books in 2024. On the other hand, designating him as a post-June 1 release would leave a $59.1 million dead cap hit next year with a $22.2 million charge in 2025.
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