Six Year Saga is Over: Daniel Jones is a Free Man
After six years of up and down performances, voluminous coaching changes, multiple hard-fought recoveries from injuries, some crazy games in 2024, and an even crazier post-bye week series of events, Daniel Jones met with John Mara on Friday and requested his release from the New York Giants.
That wish was granted. The Giants put Jones on waivers Friday.
He is not expected to be claimed due to his $13.8M remaining salary for 2024, which another team would pick up.
If he is not claimed by Sunday night, come Monday, Daniel Jones is a free agent. No, check that; Daniel Jones is a free man.
Swapping Dimes for Cutlets
This week began with the Giants announcing that string QB Tommy DeVito (Tommy Cutlets to the fan base) would vault to starting QB for the remainder of the season, leaping over backup QB Drew Lock and sending Daniel Jones down to third-string emergency QB for games.
The move to drop Jones made business sense with his looming $23M insurance policy for 2025 that would come into effect if Daniel could not pass a physical next March. Why risk injury in the final seven games of 2024? It was becoming apparent that Jones was playing his last games for the Giants.
Demoting Jones was an expected move, given the Giants’ 2-8 record. Jones was benched earlier this season. And the atrocious play of Jones in the Germany game versus the lowly Carolina Panthers was the final straw. This became just the latest overall bad in-game performance by Jones and was amplified by being the only game on TV for the start of a Sunday pro football slate on November 10th. The entire football fandom watched Jones make a mistake after mistake, missing wide-open receivers, taking unnecessary sacks, and passing to receivers short of the sticks on critical downs.
To make it all worse for Jones, he was analyzed in every play by NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. Warner, once an advocate for Jones earlier this year, highlighted every mistake and misread he saw Jones make throughout the game. Jones’ flaws were on full display. And so was the frustration of Head Coach Brian Daboll, once jumping up and down on the sideline, so upset that Daniel missed two wide-open receivers on a flea-flicker by taking a sack.
Jones, the Person and Teammate
PHOTO: Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
No one has ever questioned the person and teammate Daniel Jones. The players and coaches all applaud his work ethic, attitude, fight, and internal fortitude. He is a beloved teammate, and that is readily apparent in the number of players who always speak highly of and defend him. But Daniel made the best move possible by requesting his release from the Giants on Friday. Maybe he should have done so when the Giants announced he was being benched. But, ever the “team-first” player that he is, he initially chose to stick it out, even playing Safety in Thursday’s practice as a member of the scout team.
Daniel Jones read a prepared announcement to the media on Thursday that sounded like the last time he’d meet with the Giants media. The New York fans and media can be absolutely harsh, even rabid, after a loss or when they smell a negative story. Daniel has always been a standup football player, never ducking a question, meeting all his media obligations, protecting other teammates, and taking full accountability for Giants’ losses and miscues.
Never once did he throw his offensive line under the bus.
He never complained about his receivers’ dropped passes or the play calling by the revolving door of offensive coordinators and coaches during his tenure with the Giants. That is what will earn him a shot with another team very quickly. He’s a good football player, but he’s also a really good person.
What’s Next for Jones?
Sirius XM NFL Radio host Pat Kirwan, a former coach and front office executive, predicted that Jones would be wanted as an immediate backup for multiple playoff-bound teams, including the Vikings, 49ers, and Dolphins.
These teams all have starting quarterback nursing injuries and backups that are not as good as Jones.
Kirwan urged Jones—who can choose whatever team he wants on Monday—to stay away from struggling teams even if he’s offered a starting job immediately. Look at what a change of scenery did for Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.
Daniel Jones needed a fresh start. On Monday, he can freely choose whatever the team wants him.
Good luck, Daniel Jones!
PHOTO: Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
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