The Big Lead

The Giants finally admit they were wrong about Daniel Jones

By Max Weisman

Daniel Jones will head to the Giants' bench for the rest of the season
Daniel Jones will head to the Giants' bench for the rest of the season / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Well, it's official. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the New York Giants are benching quarterback Daniel Jones, finally moving on from Jones after a 2-8 start this season. Following the Giants' 20-17 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Germany, head coach Brian Daboll told reporters that the team would be taking everything under consideration during its bye week. Coming out of the bye, they've made a quarterback switch.

Jones led the Giants to a 24-44-1 record during his time as a starter in the NFL. The Giants made the playoffs with Jones at the helm in 2022, beating the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round. In March 2023, Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension, which now looks like one of the worst contracts in the league.

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Moving Jones to the bench also protects New York from having to pay him $23 million if he got injured in any of the Giants' remaining games. With him off the field, the risk of injury is wiped out.

The Giants have two other quarterbacks on their roster: Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito. Lock is first on the depth chart behind Jones, but according to ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the Giants will replace Jones with DeVito. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that New York's choice was due to Lock being injured for most of the preseason, and DeVito already has experience as the Giants starter.

A season ago, DeVito started in six games for the Giants after Jones and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor went down with injury. DeVito threw for 913 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception in those six games. The Giants went 3-3.

DeVito will be back in action for New York on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Giants' first game post Daniel Jones.

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