If the New York Giants do move on from quarterback Daniel Jones this offseason or attempt to find his successor, general manager Joe Schoen isn’t letting anyone know at this point, yet.
In fact, the former Bills architect now preparing for his third season at the helm of the Giants indicated the exact opposite by stating that he still believes that the team could be built around the oft-injured and inconsistent quarterback.
“Yes,” Schoen responded when asked if he could build around Jones (h/t SNY). “It’s football and guys get hurt. You can’t always predict it. Guys that have previous injuries, you have to look at the injuries individually and what they were, how they were caused. I have a lot of faith in our training staff.”
Comparisons to Jones’ predecessor, Eli Manning will always — sometimes unfairly — be heaped upon the 26-year-old’s shoulders. While Manning played in 210 consecutive games, Jones has been hampered by an onslaught of injuries including three different ankle sprains, a fractured shoulder in 2019, a concussion in 2021, a neck injury in Week 5 that sidelined him for three games, and a torn ACL suffered in Week 9 against the Las Vegas Raiders that ended his season.
Since taking over as the starter in Week 3 of the 2019 season, Jones has missed 20 games.
His performance on the field has provided mixed reviews, too. Hampered by turnover issues, it appeared as though the former No. 6 pick out of Duke put it all together in Schoen and Daboll’s first season at the helm of the Giants in 2022. He passed for 3,205 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions to go with an additional 708 rushing yards and seven scores, helping the Giants earn an unlikely playoff berth and victory with a Wild Card win over the Minnesota Vikings.
It earned him a four-year, $160 million contract in the offseason, but in six games this year, he was 1-5 as a starter 909 yards passing, just two touchdowns, and six interceptions — one more than he had all of 2022.
The built-in team option following the 2024 season appears as though it was perfectly placed. Jones’ inability to stay on the field and show that he can be a franchise quarterback leaves the Schoen and the Giants with an opportunity to draft another passer with the No. 6 overall pick this spring.
They could very well take it with quarterbacks like Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. thought to be available by the time they are on the clock. But Schoen appears to be holding out hope that Jones will be the man under center when the 2024 season kicks off.
“Hopefully, he’ll be back for Week 1,” Schoen said. “We don’t have a crystal ball here but we will build the team the way that we see best.”
