Getty Giants QB Daniel Jones.
While New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have continuously backed Daniel Jones publically, the organization isn’t quite ready to financially commit to the 24-year-old signal-caller. According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the team is unlikely to pick up the fifth-year option on Jones’ contract this offseason.
“It seems likely they will pass since he’s yet to show any real consistency in his first three seasons as a starting quarterback and it would mean guaranteeing him $20-plus million for 2023,” Raanan wrote on February 21. “It seems inevitable they let Jones play it out this year and if he has a great season, that will present a good problem.”
With Jones’ staying power in doubt, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine proposes the new regime in East Rutherford skip out on the Jones trial run this season and instead flip the Duke product in a blockbuster deal for Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
The latest Giants news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on Giants newsletter here!
Giants Swing Big to Solidify QB Position in B/R Proposal
In the B/R analyst’s hypothetical trade, Ballentine sees the Giants packaging Jones, a 2022 first-round pick (No. 5 overall) and a 2023 second-round pick all to yield the services of Carr, a three-time Pro Bowler entering a contract season.
“This is the Raiders’ best shot at getting a blue-chip prospect out of trading away their quarterback. The fact that they get a QB in Daniel Jones who still has some upside is a bonus,” wrote Ballentine. “Jones’ best work came as a rookie when he threw for 24 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. The fact he never progressed could be on coaching and support just as much as the 24-year-old.”
He continued, “This deal would allow the Raiders to pick up a significant building block through the draft, give Jones a fresh start and give them another good pick in the 2023 draft if they have to start over at quarterback.”
An Unlikely Scenario
Am I here to tell you Jones will silence his doubters in 2022? Not by any means. Is Derek Carr a clear upgrade from Jones at this point and time? Undoubtedly. However, Carr has just one year remaining on his five-year, $125 million contract and could net a new extension in the $40 million per season range, per Raiders insider Vinny Bonsignore.
Considering New York’s current financial state and Schoen informing NBC Sports’ Peter King of his desire to clear north of $40 million off the cap, swinging such a drastic move (including surrendering a top-five draft pick) would seem a bit counterintuitive for a team with so many holes littered throughout their roster.
Remember, Jones has shown promise before — namely during his rookie campaign where he threw for 3,027 yards and 24 touchdowns. Then again, in each of the two seasons since, he’s also failed to eclipse the 3,000-yard passing mark nor 11 touchdowns through the air. Of course, as Ballentine highlighted, it’s been difficult to gauge Jones’ ceiling due to the inept level of talent and coaching surrounding him.
Still, there’s reason to believe that Daboll can help develop the quarterback in a similar fashion as to how he helped Josh Allen blossom in Buffalo — maybe not to the same heights, but enough to where the Giants can get a good picture as to where their quarterback position sits come this time next year.