Biggest Move Giants Should Regret Most in Not Making Before 2024 Season

In a year full of mistakes by the New York Giants, there is one decision if they could get a mulligan, they'd probably jump at the chance

New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) with New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll. / Scott Rausenberger-Imagn Images

When the New York Giants look back on what has been one of the most miserable and humiliating seasons in their franchise’s 100-year history, there will be more than a couple of reasons that explain why the journey has gone so far in the wrong direction. 

The Giants opened up the season with expectations of improvements from last year’s 6-11 record, mostly as a result of the efforts made by general manager Joe Schoen and the front office to funnel draft and capital resources towards the right areas of need and strengthen the overall value of the roster instead of wasting the tight financial space with which they had to operate on non-premium players.

Unfortunately, that vision has not been the case for New York, which has yet to match that win total and likely won’t before the campaign is over in five weeks. The roster assembled has come crumbling down in front of them amid injuries and uncompetitive play, while several moves that they elected not to make are starting to come back to bite them straight in the rear. 

The most popular regret voiced by the fanbase is losing running back Saquon Barkley. He departed in free agency and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, where his career has taken off again toward record-breaking numbers. 

A close second is the departure of former safety Xavier McKinney, who has the most interceptions this year for the Green Bay Packers defense, while the Giants have only one in 12 games.

Yet, there is a much different move that Pro Football Focus believes stands high above the list of the “should have” decisions: the complete malpractice surrounding the quarterback room, which has now combusted in the aftermath of Daniel Jones’ release from the team. 

While it is hard to pin the entire blame for the landslide campaign on the quarterback position, it has definitely been a catalyst for some deterioration of the product that the Giants put on the field every Sunday. 

The team seems to have handled every aspect of the situation the wrong way, and it has had a trickle-down effect since the end of the 2022 season. 

The massive mistake started when the Giants elected to side with Jones after a 9-win season and postseason victory, extending the gunslinger to a four-year deal worth $160 million with $81 million guaranteed instead of picking up his fifth-year option and establishing a new framework with impactful players on both sides, such as Barkley and McKinney.

The Giants did make sure they had an escape clause thrown into the deal as an insurance policy should Jones regress after the first two years, but they never hoped that would be the outcome. 

Still, the former No. 6 pick in 2019 would only appear in 16 more games for New York, recording a 3-13 record before being benched and subsequently cut from the organization that had won its way out of drafting his future replacement before the 2024 season. 

With his exit from the starting role after six seasons, the heart of the issue has circled back to the Giants lack of appropriate action in landing those same insurance options behind Jones. 

Schoen had the option to trade down in the draft and select a prospect like Bo Nix or J.J. McCarthy, who both went after the team, and selected receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6 overall.  

The third-year general manager could also have signed a cheap veteran from the free agent market like Russell Wilson, whom the Giants flirted with on a team visit during the offseason, to compete with Jones and potentially become a bridge option for the 2025 campaign. 

However, their ultimate choice was to partner with former Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock on a $5 million deal, with the understanding that he would serve as Jones's backup should his predecessor go down during the season and presumably keep the offense afloat with his 28 games of experience under center.

That agreement became totally nullified as the Giants struck their fateful divorce with the former Duke quarterback following their bye. Lock ended up being leapfrogged as the team gave the nod to Tommy DeVito, the emergency quarterback all season up until that point. 

DeVito was a complete shell of himself as the offense flustered in a 30-7 home beatdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12. The young arm would get injured in that contest and pass the awaited torch over to Locke, who only responded with a mediocre 21 completions for 178 yards and an interception in the recent loss to the Dallas Cowboys. 

Now, the Giants find themselves in a very grave scenario where they will need a complete overhaul of the position this offseason. It’s unlikely that they stick with either one of the guys they’re rotating right now, as Lock hasn’t performed well enough to be a bridge arm, and DeVito is an exclusive rights free agent with little future value beyond a serviceable backup. 

The jury is still out on whether Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, both of whom previously received a vote of confidence from owner John Mara, will survive the losing streak and stick around to select the franchise's next quarterback while building the whole group. 

Their financial investment in Jones and, to a degree, Lock has cost their locker room a wealth of talent and cap funds that could have gone toward retaining Barkley and McKinney. 

Decisions like these at the most important position on the field could seal their fate. Pundits have the Giants staring at potentially earning the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft for the first time in nearly 60 years, a bad time for a quarterback-needy team to be in that position, considering the 2025 class isn’t thought to be as talent-rich as the 2024 class. 

Had the Giants had a better quarterback strategy, perhaps they would have a more amicable record with wins in some of the close games that came down to quarterback fundamentals. 

Until the draft card is drawn with a potential answer in April, they are left to reap what they’ve sown and think about “what if” as their season closes out in unforgettable ineptitude. 

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