Hours before the New York Giants fell to 0-2 on the season via Sunday's frustrating 21-18 loss at the division-rival Washington Commanders (1-1), ESPN's Adam Schefter became the latest NFL insider to mention that the Giants could consider benching quarterback Daniel Jones to ensure the injury guarantee for 2025 reportedly worth $23M attached to Jones' contract doesn't become fully guaranteed because of a serious physical setback.
Jones was asked about Schefter's story following Sunday's defeat.
"To be honest, this is the first I've heard about the report and I'll let the team handle that," Jones explained, as shared by the Giants' official website. "I don't concern myself with what comes out and will leave that up to the team to handle. My job is to play good football and help us come out with a win."
It's been known for some time that the Giants could escape the four-year contract Jones signed in March 2023 as soon as next offseason assuming he can pass a physical at that time. He has dealt with two different neck-related issues since the start of the 2021 campaign, and he is still shaking off rust he accumulated after he suffered a torn ACL on Nov. 5 of last year.
Back in July, Giants general manager Joe Schoen neither confirmed nor denied that head coach Brian Daboll could sit Jones before Week 18 so that the club could part ways with the 2019 first-round draft pick in March 2025. That was before Jones produced an awful showing in the season-opening 28-6 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 8 and before he looked better against the Commanders.
In total, Jones completed 16-of-28 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 32 rushing yards on five carries versus Washington. One could argue he would've earned his first win of the campaign had Daboll handled the statuses of placekickers Graham Gano and Jude McAtamney differently and/or had rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers not committed a costly drop in the fourth quarter of the contest.
Despite the Giants' woes, Jones remains on track to start over primary backup Drew Lock and fan-favorite Tommy DeVito when Big Blue plays at the Cleveland Browns (1-1) this coming Sunday. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Giants as seven-point underdogs against the Browns.
