Joe Schoen makes it clear that Daniel Jones will be Giants QB in 2023
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones talks to running back Saquon Barkley during the second quarter against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Dec 11, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner
INDIANAPOLIS — When it comes to the Giants, there was a clear headline, maybe two of them, at the NFL Combine on Tuesday afternoon.
Asked if there was “any doubt” that Daniel Jones will be the Giants quarterback in 2023, general manager Joe Schoen replied with one word.
“No.”
It was a succinct, entirely shtick-less answer that left no ambiguity.
Schoen said the Giants have been “in constant contact,” with the quarterback’s agents. The GM indicated at his postseason news conference on Jan. 23 that the Giants wanted to have Jones continue as the team's quarterback.
On Tuesday, Schoen elaborated.
“We had productive conversations [Monday], we have some more scheduled [Tuesday],” Schoen said. “We’ll continue to communicate with them.”
Some of the contact was face-to-face at the Combine. Some was over the phone. Schoen indicated that Jones’ recent change of representation from CAA to Athletes First was a personal decision by the quarterback.
“That’s something personal that Daniel wanted to do. I didn’t really get into it,” Schoen said. “We have never had any conversations with CAA” regarding Jones. “We’ll continue to hammer out, try to get closer to getting something done, hopefully.”
Jones is coming off his best season in his four years as a Giant. In 16 games, he completed 67.2% of his passes for 6.8 yards per attempt. He threw 15 touchdown passes, despite not having a name-brand receiver. He had a total of 29 interceptions in his first three seasons and only five in 2022 under Brian Daboll’s coaching staff.
Running back Saquon Barkley sees himself and Jones as linked. The two are close friends off the field and strongly prefer to continue as teammates. On that front, Schoen described himself as “cautiously optimistic.”
Like Jones, Barkley was among the 2022 captains for the Giants.
“In the negotiations you take that all into account or you wouldn’t approach the player on a contract extension,” Schoen said. “[He was] Walter Payton Man of the Year and I love that about him. But you also got to look at production, durability, games played, production versus other comps throughout the league and that’s usually where they land from a financial standpoint.
“We’ve got to draw a line in the sand, like we’re not going any further and if it goes past this, all right let’s shift to Plan B. Hopefully we don’t get to that, but we went through all those plans.”
If the Giants do not need to use the franchise tag on Jones, they could do so with Barkley.
“Again,” Schoen said, “you have to go through hard times before you come out the other end with better times with negotiations. We’re trying to work through it. Obviously, we’d like to have them both back. They know how we feel about both of them and again, we’re still working through it.”
Schoen added that he wouldn’t have extended offers to both players if he, and the organization, didn’t want them both back.
Barkley, set to become a free agent, is coming off his finest season since his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2018. Schoen reminded reporters on Tuesday that he had extension talks with the Barkley camp during the team’s bye week in November. No agreement was reached then, when the Giants offered in the neighborhood of $12 million per year.
As Schoen spoke at the CombineTuesday afternoon, the clock was ticking as it pertains to the NFL’s franchise tag. Teams have until March 7 to utilize the tag. On Tuesday, Washington defensive tackle Daron Payne became the first player in 2023 to be franchised.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
