The New York Giants are benching quarterback Daniel Jones following their Week 11 bye, a league source confirmed Monday. NFL Network first reported the decision.
The move comes after New York’s 20-17 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Munich on Nov. 10, which dropped the Giants to 2-8. Daboll said after the game that the team would “evaluate” the quarterback position.
It’s unclear who the team will turn to as its next starter. Drew Lock has served as the team’s backup quarterback, and New York has also utilized Tommy DeVito in relief.
The Giants are 24-44-1 when Jones has started during the quarterback’s tenure in New York. He finished the loss to the Panthers with 190 passing yards, two interceptions and a 50.5 passer rating, along with 26 rushing yards and one TD. He called his performance “not good enough.”
“(We) came up short, obviously hurt ourselves a lot,” Jones said after that game. “It’s very frustrating.”
This season, Jones has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The 27-year-old is in his sixth season with New York after the franchise selected him with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. In March 2023, he signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Giants after what was arguably his best season in New York. The Giants went 9-6-1 in 2022 and beat the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Wild Card round matchup.
Jones, however, was limited to just six games in 2023 with an injury. Still, the Giants went 1-5 with Jones under center. This year, New York started 2-3 but have lost five straight games since a Week 5 win against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Giants are 3-13 in games started by Jones since his extension while backups Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito combined to go 5-6 last season.
What’s next for Jones, Giants
It’s over for Jones. It would actually be self-serving for Daboll and Joe Schoen to continue starting him. He provides a human shield for them, as all of the team’s failures can be pinned on him. He has no future with the Giants. This move essentially signals he’s done in New York.
So focusing on Jones is missing the much bigger issue: Should Daboll and Schoen get the opportunity to draft and develop Jones’ replacement? That’s the question ownership needs to be asking. Meanwhile, if Daboll is an offensive guru, let’s see what he can do with Lock, the QB they decided to make the backup knowing Jones was entering the season on shaky ground. — Dan Duggan, Giants beat writer
Required reading
- Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s back-breaking OT fumble a painful reminder of rookie growing pains
- The Giants are getting worse, so what is the case for retaining Brian Daboll, Joe Schoen?
(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)
