The New York Giants benched Daniel Jones because of his lack of production, and he’ll be a free agent Monday afternoon because of his contract.
Jones can find a fresh start next week when — or if — he decides what team he wants to join for the remainder of the season on the veteran minimum contract. And general manager Joe Schoen can begin to write the next chapter for the Giants.
Multiple sources reiterated this week to CBS Sports that Giants owner John Mara intends to keep Schoen beyond this year. Mara has said as much publicly, and Schoen has echoed his boss as recently as last week. Yet questions around the league have persisted in recent weeks about whether Mara would make a move on the general manager who signed Jones to the four-year, $160 million contract two seasons ago.
Sources say the answer is no, and they explain that because Mara is present for the day-to-day operations, he understands why and how the contract was given in the first place.
In February 2023, the Giants had an offer to running back Saquon Barkley with an average annual value of $13 million. Barkley ultimately declined the long-term deal, and the Giants were faced with tagging either Barkley or Jones, or potentially losing one of them.
The Giants determined to tag Barkley, and they executed a last-minute deal just before the free-agency deadline with Jones that sources admitted even then was an overpay, but with few better options available. A source on a rival team said Friday that the Giants would have been better served then by overpaying Barkley on a long-term deal so they could use the tag on Jones, though the tag would have counted $32.4 million against the cap compared to Barkley’s $10.1 million.
Saving the Giants was they could get out of the deal after two years if Jones didn’t perform like he did in 2022 when New York went to the playoffs and won a game. His contract was always set up as a two-year deal, and that’s what it ended up being.
Jones suffered an ACL tear in 2023 and regressed significantly in 2024. Crucial errors in late games cost the Giants against the Steelers and Bengals this year. The Giants were dead last in the NFL in completions of 20 or more yards with 19, struggling like few others to generate explosive plays. A 39.3% red zone touchdown rate is the lowest in the league and well off the league average of 56.8%.
All of that led to the Giants benching Jones this week and going with Tommy DeVito, whom the Giants hope will provide a spark offensively in the closing third of the season.
Jones took the news of the benching “as you’d expect,” one source said, noting he wanted to go out on his own terms. Multiple sources said Jones got a longer leash than most would considering his output.
He opened his Thursday press conference giving a minute-long farewell address, admitting he didn’t do enough to keep his job while wishing the organization well.
“When you watch that you can see why the Giants gave him six years,” said a source. “He works hard. Classy. Has the traits. 6-5 and can run. Everybody keeps thinking they can unlock him. But three head coaches and multiple coordinators later, maybe you have to look in the mirror.
“He got a No. 1 receiver. Offensive line was good when Andrew Thomas was in there. Maybe [Jones] is who he is.”
Giants head coach Brian Daboll is also presumed to return for 2025 as Mara does not wish for more upheaval. Daboll spent more time with the quarterbacks this season, coaching Jones hard at his request after becoming the full-time playcaller. He is expected to get the opportunity to coach up a new quarterback with the Giants next season.
“I don’t think there’s a strong appetite for change,” a source said.
That quarterback will come either from free agency or the 2025 NFL Draft. Schoen and his group have been on the college football trail for a second straight year after failing to land Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye last year. The Giants have laid multiple eyes on Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders this year, and on Saturday Schoen was at Miami where Cam Ward beat Wake Forest, 42-14.
Change is upon Jones, who Monday will clear waivers when no team claims him and his contract. His salary of more than $11 million for the remainder of the season is guaranteed, and no team will want to assume the $23 million in injury guarantees the Giants just slinked out of.
A team signing will only need to pay Jones the prorated amount of the $1.1 million veteran minimum. It is possible Jones decides to sit out the remainder of the season and prepare for 2025 free agency, but a source who knows Jones doesn’t believe that will happen.
“He’s a worker bee. He loves activity. He will want to play,” that source said.
If true, Jones will have to determine where he wants to go. He could choose a playoff-bound team where he’d also immediately become the backup quarterback, or he could join a team that does not have its quarterback of 2025 on the roster as a sort of audition.
If the latter, Jones risks putting bad tape on film with a second team in one year. He’d join a team late in the year hoping to make a difference with teammates and a system with which he’s unfamiliar. There’s little debate Jones would be the best option for the Raiders at quarterback after a couple weeks in the system.
If the former, Jones joins a team with little pressure on himself. Destinations like the Chargers, Broncos, Cardinals and Vikings were all mentioned by sources as possible landing spots this season for Jones.
Most sources placed Jones in Buffalo, where the Bills run a system that should be familiar to Jones after his years with Daboll, a former Bills offensive coordinator. Jones would serve as insurance for MVP candidate Josh Allen, whose style of play forces him to absorb a number of hits each week.
One source wondered if Detroit would be Jones’s best stop for the remainder of the year. He’d sit behind Jared Goff but offer a better backup option than Hendon Hooker. Jones could learn under offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who’s considered one of the most creative play-callers in the league today.
Johnson and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn could be head coaches in a matter of months, and it’s possible they could need Jones on their future team. So gaining that familiarity now could serve Jones well as he charts the course for his future.