The New York Giants have released QB Daniel Jones after six seasons with the team. Giants president John Mara said the sides mutually agreed that it “would be best for him and for the team” to move on, according to ESPN. Jones was demoted to third string on the depth chart in place of Tommy DeVito earlier this week.
— New York Giants (@Giants) November 22, 2024
It has certainly been a bumpy ride for Daniel Jones and the Giants since they drafted him with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft. Dave Gettleman, by all accounts, was the worst GM in Giants history. He selected the unproven QB out of Duke with an incredibly high draft pick, thus the expectations were just as high. Jones ability as a QB never reached those expectations thrusted on him from the get-go. Add in the fact he was replacing soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterback and 2x Super Bowl champion Eli Manning, the kid was put in an impossible position.
Watching how the NYG and NYJ seasons are going and the future of both orgs' QB situations as they stand today, how do you not appreciate what Eli Manning did in the NYC market? How does it not stand out as even more impressive five years after his "Always a Giant" farewell?
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) November 22, 2024
Jones’ high point came in the 2022 season, where he posted a career high in passing yards and a career low in interceptions on his way to a playoff victory, on the road, against the Minnesota Vikings. He also remains the only NFC QB to have defeated Lamar Jackson, which also came in that 2022 season.
Who is to blame?
Naturally, fans always look for someone to blame when a quarterback situation goes as poorly as this one. In this instance, there isn’t one singular person to point at, but a multitude.
Dave Gettleman
The one who shoulders the most blame is undoubtedly former general manager Dave Gettleman. He’s the one who severely over reached and selected Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick. He’s the one who made numerous incomprehensible free agent signings that crippled the Giants cap for the better part of a decade. He’s the one who traded superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns after he said, “We didn’t sign Odell to trade him.” The Giants still have not had a great WR since (here’s hoping Malik Nabers reaches those heights, he has the potential).
It was always going to be a struggle replacing Eli Manning. The Green Bay Packers are the only organization in football to successfully replace not just one, but two, Hall of Fame QBs and continue winning football games. What Gettleman did was make it impossible for himself, Daniel Jones, and the New York Giants to succeed. Jones was the final piece of the Gettleman era to go, so hopefully now head coach Brain Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen can right the ship.
John Mara
Luckily for Mr. Mara, Woody Johnson exists, so he isn’t the worst owner in New York sports. With the exception of two winning seasons miraculously tossed in there, the Giants have been a dumpster fire. Multiple head coaches and general managers over the last several years. A lack of leadership and dysfunction that is usually reserved for hopeless franchises, has now been bestowed upon one of the NFL’s oldest.
Agreeing to do the offseason Hard Knocks for HBO was one of the worst decisions Mara could have made for the Giants. They were simply not ready to compete, or in a position to air out all their business. When organizational failure is so rampant it spreads across different regimes, it’s only naturally to start going higher and higher on the totem pole looking for someone to blame.
Daniel Jones/Brian Daboll
At the end of the day, the head coach and quarterback shoulder a lot of responsibility for the on-field product. Yes, Daniel Jones didn’t ask to be the sixth overall pick, nor was he ready to be, but he just didn’t have the ability to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL. Both things can be true.
He received a longer leash than most young QBs, who are being benched left and right in today’s league. For him to have six seasons as a starter despite not putting up impressive numbers shows just how much the organization respected him. By all accounts he was a good guy, a good leader in the locker room, and his teammates respected him because he played hard and was tough.
For Brian Daboll, he won a playoff game with Jones in his first season as head coach. It is by far and away the most success Jones ever had at the pro level, and a large part of that is due to Daboll and the system he installed. The Giants have looked sloppy and undisciplined at times this season, but that’s what happens when you’re at the bottom of the league. Daboll and Schoen inherited an absolute disaster in New York, and have really done a good job of cleaning up the mess left by Gettleman. Their next big move is to draft the QB they want.
The Rest of the Way
The Giants need to lose. They currently hold the third overall pick, behind the Titans and Jaguars. It will be a bitter pill to swallow, especially for the defense that is currently second in the league in sacks, but this is what’s best for the team.
@frommypointofviewpod #greenscreen Giants release Daniel Jones. It’s finally over. #fyp #foryou #giants #newyorkgiants #football #nfl #danieljones #freeagent #newyork #quarterback ♬ original sound - John Grimaldi
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