Joe Flacco on Thursday. Russell Wilson on Friday. And the waiting game continues with Aaron Rodgers.
That is the current state of the Giants' desperate quarterback mess, since they’re not guaranteed to get Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ultimately, the Giants' hot-seat, fourth-year general manager, Joe Schoen, has no one to blame for all this but himself.
Schoen wants Rodgers, who clearly is in no rush to decide between the Giants and Steelers (even though the logical choice, Pittsburgh, is clear).
In the meantime, Schoen is hosting fallback options (Wilson and Flacco) on free agent visits. Because he needs somebody — anybody — to play quarterback in 2025.
Yes, Schoen had no control over the Giants blowing their shot at the No. 1 pick this year by beating the Colts in Week 17 last season. Because of that, they landed behind two quarterback-needy teams (Titans and Browns) in a weak quarterback draft. That wasn’t Schoen’s fault.
But let’s stop pretending he is a helpless victim in this Giants quarterback debacle.
In 2023, he decided to pay Daniel Jones $82 million over two years — while franchise tagging Saquon Barkley, who then left for the Eagles after that season (and immediately dominated and won a Super Bowl).
Schoen could have tagged Jones at $32 million for year (while giving Barkley a long-term contract) — and then would’ve been able to wash his hands of the inept quarterback after 2023.
Instead, Schoen was stuck with Jones for 2023 and 2024. Still, coming out of 2023 — with Jones rehabbing a torn ACL — Schoen clearly decided Jones wasn’t his guy. OK, fine.
One problem: Tommy DeVito’s three late-season wins in 2023 crushed Schoen’s chances of landing Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye in the 2024 draft. Not Schoen’s fault. Still, he could’ve taken Michael Penix, J.J. McCarthy or Bo Nix at No. 6. He passed on them all.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers — who Schoen did take at No. 6 — looks like a terrific player. But the Giants still don’t have a quarterback. And Nix looked great in 2024, when Penix flashed some potential and McCarthy sat all season because of a knee injury.
There’s also this: Before Schoen passed on a quarterback in the 2024 draft, he completely screwed up his free agency quarterback decision.
You could understand why Wilson preferred the Steelers to the Giants last offseason. But Schoen — who, again, wanted to replace Jones — gave Drew Lock $5 million for one year. Meanwhile, the Vikings got Sam Darnold at $10 million for one year. And we all know how that turned out.
Even after settling for Lock in free agency, Schoen could’ve drafted Penix, McCarthy or Nix. Instead, he rolled into the season with Jones, Lock and DeVito — and then went 3-14.
It wasn’t just the Vikings signing Darnold for one year and $10 million last offseason. The Steelers also got Justin Fields from the Bears for a sixth-round pick and the final $3.2 million of his rookie contract. Like Darnold, he would’ve been a better backup plan than Lock.
And don’t forget this: Schoen last offseason — as everyone saw on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” — justified not paying Barkley by noting the massive investment the Giants made in Jones. Except, at the same time, Schoen was trying hard in the draft to trade up (and divorce Jones).
Still, Schoen spent free agency and the draft not finding a viable backup option to Jones. Forget landing a long-term replacement for Jones. Schoen didn’t even secure a legit short-term replacement.
Yet somehow, he kept his job for 2025, even as co-owner John Mara said he’s running out of patience, coming off 6-11 and 3-14 seasons.
So let’s use a little common sense — and short-term memory — and dispense with the notion that Schoen, for two drafts now, has simply been the victim of his team winning a meaningless late-season game or three.
Schoen had plenty of chances the past two offseasons to take control of the Giants' quarterback situation. He botched them. And now, he’s scrambling to do something — anything — to preserve his job past 2025.
Schoen’s mishandling of the quarterback puzzle is one of many reasons he deserved to get fired after 2024 along with coach Brian Daboll, who is 11-30-1 in the regular season since his 7-2 start in 2022.
Instead, Schoen remains in East Rutherford, meeting with uninspiring, fading veteran quarterbacks — Flacco and Wilson — and waiting on Rodgers, who might get destroyed behind the Giants' offensive line.
It’s all playing out six weeks before an uninspiring quarterback draft — in a bad offseason to be desperate for a quarterback. But if Schoen is seeking someone to blame for this mess, he just needs to find a mirror.
