Daniel Jones is still the New York Giants’ QB1 in 2024 when he’s ready to return to the field from the torn ACL that ended his season earlier this month, general manager Joe Schoen said on Monday.
“The expectation is when Daniel’s healthy that he will be our starting quarterback,” Schoen said. “We don’t have a crystal ball with how the rehab is going to go. Different patients respond differently to these surgeries… That’s the expectation moving forward.”
Jones is in the first year of a four-year, $160 million deal, which could not have started much worse. The 26-year-old Duke product regressed significantly from last year in which he led the Giants to the NFC Divisional Round, throwing for just 909 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions across six games, which also featured a three-week hiatus because of a neck injury.
Even with Schoen’s seemingly strong comments about Jones being the guy, the Giants’ quarterback situation is in disarray. Jones has shown an inability to stay healthy and the brand of football he showed — albeit behind a sieve-like offensive line — this season was alarming. There is an out in his contract following the 2024 season that the Giants could logically take if those struggles continue upon his recovery.
It opens the door for Schoen to potentially use the Giants’ impending high draft pick this spring to draft a quarterback, whether that be Caleb Williams of USC or Michael Penix Jr. from Washington — both of whom Schoen personally scouted this autumn.
Schoen only added fuel to the speculatory fire by not ruling such a move out.
“We’re going to have to do something at quarterback. Whether that’s free agency or the draft… there’s no guarantee that [Jones] will be back Week 1 and [backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s] contract’s up,” Schoen said. “Those will be offseason decisions. As we go through the offseason, we’ll have a better idea about his return to play as he continues his rehab.
“We’ll take the best player available. If the best player available for our team is at a certain position, we’ll take it, and we won’t shy away from it.”
