The New York Giants are not letting quarterback Daniel Jones ride the bench after demoting him to their fourth-string quarterback this week.
During Thursday’s practice, Jones was spotted donning a red non-contact jersey and lining up as a safety with the Giants’ scout-team defense.
This is as expensive a scout-team player as ever, with Jones making $40 million this season — the second of a four-year deal that features a team opt-out that the Giants will surely take following the 2024 campaign.
Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen announced they were benching Jones on Monday following their Week 11 bye. The six-year veteran passer was just 2-8 as the team’s starter this season after recovering from a torn ACL that ended his 2023 campaign prematurely.
Jones completed just 63.3% of his passes for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 10 games this year. His benching came after a miserable effort in Munich against the lowly Carolina Panthers, in which he completed just 52.4% of his passes (22 of 42) for 186 yards and two costly interceptions that played a direct hand in New York’s 20-17 overtime loss.
He was a non-factor on his home field, too. Jones went 672 days without throwing a touchdown pass at MetLife Stadium, which spanned from New Year’s Day 2023 to the Giants’ Week 9 loss to the Washington Commanders on Nov. 3.
The team elevated Tommy DeVito to starting quarterback, leaving Drew Lock cemented as the primary backup and signing Tim Boyle to serve as the third-stringer. If dropping to fourth-string was not a big enough indignation, Daboll had Jones attempt to play defense on Thursday ahead of New York’s Week 12 clash against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
