Michael Strahan: Giants have to keep and pay Daniel Jones
Fox’s Michael Strahan said Daniel Jones has earned a big contract and the chance to lead the Giants to the Super Bowl. Credit: Getty Images/Mitchell Leff
PHOENIX — Daniel Jones has topped his two-time Super Bowl-winning predecessor in at least one regard according to Giants Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.
“I didn’t think I’d even meet anybody or see anybody who is more quiet than Eli Manning was when he played, and Daniel Jones has accomplished that, he’s done that,” Strahan, an analyst for FOX, said at the network’s media availability for Super Bowl LVII on Tuesday.
As for matching Manning’s success — including an epic Super Bowl victory in Strahan’s final game right here in Arizona — Strahan said the Giants should keep him around and give him the chance to do that.
“He hasn’t had the same coordinator for two years in a row in forever, different head coaches, different everything,” Strahan said. “I thought what he did this year was fantastic. He put the team on his back at times when he needed to. I think you have to keep Daniel Jones and you have to pay Daniel Jones. That’s just the way football works right now.”
Jones is a free agent and while the Giants have expressed a desire to have him back in 2023 and also have the tools to make that happen with a potential franchise tag, he is not contractually committed to a return.
“The hardest position to fill is quarterback,” Strahan said. “If you don’t keep him, somebody else will take him and then where do you start? What’s your next move? There is no guarantee anyone else is going to be great. So I think Daniel has done enough to earn himself a great contract in New York.”
Jones had another fan among Fox analysts on Tuesday. Former quarterback Michael Vick loved the way he played this season but also the way the Giants groomed him.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka and the rest of the offensive staff,” Vick said of Jones’ jump in 2022. “I think this is a valuable lesson that sometimes it takes time for certain players. It might happen in Year 2, it might happen in year 4, it doesn’t always happen in Year 1. But when you invest a first round pick in a guy, you have to give him a chance. Daniel Jones has shown over the years that he’s more than capable; this year it just all came out. It was so good to see.
“I love those types of stories where the team doesn’t just bail on the quarterback and he becomes somebody else’s treasure. This is a guy who they stuck it out with, they went the extra mile with him, brought in the right teachers, and they saw something in him and they got what they deserved this year.”
As for the nickname Saquon Barkley gave to Jones this season after one of his elusive scrambles?
“I loved it!” Vick said. “Not Danny Dimes but Vanilla Vick. Yeah. That’s him. He’s stamped with that now. He should change his number to 7 next year and really ride it out!”
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.
