If Losses Keep Piling Up, Giants Will Have to Start Thinking About This Factor

If the Giants' downward slide continues, they could be forced to decide on Daniel Jones sooner rather than later.

Sep 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) warms up before a game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Despite what the New York Giants' brass says, the simple fact that they sought to upgrade the quarterback position via the draft (which would have cost them premium assets) says a lot about the state of the quarterback position on this team and the brass's thought process.

Assuming that nothing has changed–and it’s still early enough for Daniel Jones to end any lingering thoughts the team has of upgrading after this season–there are a few questions the Giants will need to address if they do indeed move on from Jones.

The first, obviously, is whether they continue to leave Jones out there week after week, knowing his injury history and that his contract next year includes an injury guarantee. 

Jones, who except for the 2022 season, has missed games due to injury in each season, would be guaranteed $23 million of his $30 million base salary in 2025 if he cannot pass a physical next year, regardless if the Giants cut him or keep him.

That would be a big chunk of change to devote out of what the Giants’ current cap space, $48.153 million.

The second question the Giants must address is what to do about a bridge quarterback. Had the Giants successfully drafted a quarterback in this year’s draft, the plan was to have the rookie sit and become acclimated to life in the pros, similar to how Patrick Mahomes sat for a year behind a bridge quarterback when he arrived in Kansas City.

Could Jones, who is due to count for $41.605 million next year, be that bridge? Would the Giants be better off re-signing one of Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito? 

QB Sam Darnold, the Jets' former first-round draft pick, has enjoyed a rebirth of his career with the Minnesota Vikings after bouncing around the league. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Or would the Giants just be better off going outside the organization, making a pitch for say, Sam Darnold, the failed Jets first-round pick who, after bouncing around the league, has been enjoying a comeback with the Minnesota Vikings while their first-round pick and future quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, sits on season-ending IR?

Darnold has put up insane numbers through the first four weeks of the season. He's thrown for 932 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions, and has led the Vikings to a 4-0 record. It's been an incredible feat for the former first-rounder, who's finally seemed to find his footing in the league.

Darnold also boasts a 118.9 passer rating, the highest of his career. But again, with McCarthy waiting in the wings, does Darnold have a long-term future with the Vikings, or will he, as is anticipated, be among the hottest names on the quarterback free-agent market next offseason?

The other option, assuming the Giants do prioritize quarterback in next year's draft, could be to drop Jones and roll with whatever rookie quarterback the Giants might draft, as Chicago (Caleb Williams) and Washington (Jayden Daniels) have done.  

In an ideal world, the Giants don’t have to think about any of those scenarios and instead continue rolling with Jones. But as the losses continue to pile up–and to be clear, not all of the losses are Jones’s fault–it’s something that the Giants’ brass will have to start thinking about, whether it wants to or not.

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