The New York Giants benched Daniel Jones a couple weeks back, and Tom Brady has since called out the quarterback for asking for his release from the franchise in the aftermath.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and current color commentator for FOX Sports, took aim at Jones during his call of the Thanksgiving Day contest between the Giants and Dallas Cowboys.
“I don’t know how the whole situation went down, but to think that you would ask for a release from a team that committed a lot to you is maybe different than how I would’ve handled that,” Brady said during the broadcast, per Bleacher Report. “I always felt I wanted to get the trust and respect of my teammates, regardless [of the] situation, knowing that I was doing the best I could for the team because that was the most important thing.”
New York extended Jones on a four-year contract worth $160 million total in March 2023. However, the team benched him ahead of last week’s contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in favor of third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito and clearly planned to cut Jones in the offseason before moving on for good.
Tom Brady Compares His Situation at Michigan to That of Daniel Jones With Giants
Getty Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady went on to compare some of the experiences he had in college at the University of Michigan to Jones’ situation with the Giants, after Jones started 69 games for the franchise across a six-year run in New York.
“I think … at points in our career, [we all] face different challenges. I faced them in college,” Brady continued. “Some things didn’t go the way I wanted, but the people that mattered the most to me were the guys in the locker room. I showed up every day. I don’t care if they asked me to be scout team safety, scout team quarterback — I was going to do whatever I could to help the team win.”
In fairness to Jones, Giants owner John Mara said that the parting of ways between the QB and the franchise was the best outcome for both sides after granting it.
Daniel Jones Signed With Vikings Days After Release From Giants
GettyFormer New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
Jones wasn’t unemployed for long, joining the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday as a backup option behind Sam Darnold.
The addition of Jones to the roster in Minnesota doesn’t necessarily mean that will be his long-term home, though it does indicate a likelihood that Darnold will depart in the offseason.
Darnold’s play with the Vikings this season has easily been the best of his professional career, which should help him garner a significant raise on a multiyear contract with a new franchise come March.
Meanwhile, rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be back healthy for next season after a knee injury sidelined him for the entire 2024 campaign. Jones may compete with McCarthy for the starting job next summer or begin the 2025 year as his backup.
Otherwise, Jones could also test the free agent market next spring.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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