Giants in no hurry to decide Daniel Jones' future
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) calls a play at the line of scrimmage during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, on Sunday, Dec 11, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner
IRVING, Texas
The Giants have yet to decide what they will do with Daniel Jones this offseason, sources told Newsday this week, but that doesn’t mean the four games remaining on the schedule (plus the tantalizing potential for others beyond them) will determine his fate.
Nor will the past four games without a win be what the front office focuses on when it finally gathers to discuss options.
December football can bring heightened emotions to everyone, not just players, so the Giants will want to be careful to not put too much weight on what Jones does as he quarterbacks the Giants through their first legitimate postseason push since he took over the position. The first part of the season that seems like such a distant memory right now when he was racking up wins and comebacks, that will count as much in their evaluation as what he does in Washington on Sunday night and in the three games that follow.
The Giants haven’t made a decision yet primarily because they don’t have to. They’ll let this play out.
Certainly winning will help Jones’ case for staying, either under the franchise tag in 2023 or on a new contract once his rookie deal expires at the end of this season. But Jones will be graded on the entirety of the 2022 campaign and not until the 2022 campaign is over.
That’s a prudent view on a decision that will likely define the tenure of general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll with the Giants. There are a number of ways this whole situation can evolve, both with the way Jones plays and the results the Giants earn that will determine where they select in the draft. Waiting for the intensity of this part of the season to settle down a bit before making any calls is smart.
Jumping to conclusions can cause terrible harm to a franchise. The Cardinals found that out this season when they blinked at a potential holdout from their quarterback — who, like Jones, was a member of the 2019 draft class — and signed him to a long-term deal. Kyler Murray wasn’t playing great this year and then tore his ACL on Monday night ending not only this season but potentially impacting the next one too.
Conversely, teams sometimes abandon their quarterbacks too soon. The Dolphins gave up on Ryan Tannehill and he has become a playoff regular with the Titans.
For what it’s worth, the previous front office of the Giants had its doubts about the future of the previous franchise quarterback at just about this point in his career. It was late in Eli Manning’s fourth season that general manager Jerry Reese described him as “skittish” after a blowout loss to the Vikings. Two months later Manning was named MVP of the Super Bowl.
It would be easy if this next month made the Jones decision a slam dunk either way as it did in 2007. Chances are it won’t. Jones just made his 50th career start for the Giants. He is 19-30-1. But he has also yet to play with a top-notch receiver for any significant duration during his time with the team. Nor will he have one these last four games. “He’s doing well,” Daboll said of Jones this week. “I think he’s done a nice job up to this point.”
What he does from this point on will play a part in this equation. But the decision-makers are adamant it will only be 4/17ths worth of it.
Daboll and other coaches keep saying that Jones is doing “everything we ask of him.” So far that’s led to 12 TD passes and four interceptions plus another five scores rushing. The Giants could do worse. They could also do better.
It’s what will make this upcoming decision so difficult.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
