Getty Will the Giants upgrade their quarterback position behind Daniel Jones?
Despite having the New York Giants‘ unwavering support publically, there’s no question that Daniel Jones is set to embark on a make-or-break season in 2021. The former No. 6 overall pick has flashed at times throughout his career but hasn’t consistently put forth the play to cement himself as the team’s franchise signal-caller.
With a new-and-improved receiving corps, a hopefully healthy Saquon Barkley, and one of the league’s more promising defenses, the Giants could most certainly factor into the NFC East. That is, if Jones steps up to the plate. However, should he falter, the team doesn’t have much to fall back on. They let Colt McCoy walk in free agency and currently carry just one other quarterback on the roster — Mike Glennon.
Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton believes it’s time for Dave Gettleman to correctly address the quarterback position behind Jones, and with the general manager’s ties to the newly-released Cam Newton, the NFL columnist has begun connecting dots.
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B/R: Giants Among ‘Best Potential Landing Spots’ for Cam
While a deal may seem farfetched on our ends, there are undeniable connections between Newton and the Giants brass. Yet, is it enough to make East Rutherford the future home for the former league MVP? Here’s Moton’s argument:
Jones has a full deck of weapons with Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, Kadarius Toney and Evan Engram in the pass-catching group, but what if he doesn’t optimize those playmakers? In a wide-open division that sent a 7-9 team to the playoffs for a home game last year, New York can win the NFC East with a decent quarterback. If Jones takes a step back and the Giants bench him, the coaching staff would turn to Mike Glennon.
Newton would be an immediate upgrade with a quality group of weapons around him, which is a stark difference from what he had in New England with Jakobi Meyers as his top pass-catcher last year.
Giants general manager Dave Gettleman held the same position with the Carolina Panthers when Newton reached his peak between 2013 and 2017 with the NFC South club. During that four-year stretch, he earned MVP honors (2015) and made two Pro Bowls, a first-team All-Pro roster and a trip to Super Bowl 50.
Newton could potentially preserve Gettleman’s job if his top 2019 draft pick, Jones, fails to establish himself at the most important position.
Why the Giants Likely Won’t Sign Newton
On the surface, adding Newton makes sense. He’s clearly an upgrade over Glennon, that’s not even an argument. However, he’s also a better player than Patriots backup, Brian Hoyer. So why wouldn’t Bill Belichick simply hand Newton a clipboard in New England and have him serve as Mac Jones’ backup? Well, for the same reason why the Giants likely won’t bring him in.
Newton is a huge personality, a natural leader, a former Heisman Trophy winner and league MVP. His addition in New York would have Jones looking over his shoulder, which goes against everything the Giants have built towards this offseason.
This isn’t the Chicago Bears from last year where they acquired Nick Foles hoping he’d unseat Mitchell Trubisky. Gettleman and company aggressively shaped their roster around Jones to put him in a position to succeed (although the offensive line may be lacking some). And if not succeed, show once and for all that he’s not the answer under center.
So while Newton could theoretically help the Giants in the short term, it would likely hurt Jones’ development and potentially have a negative impact on the locker room — which the organization obviously does not want. Plus, we highly doubt the Giants would hand over their offense to a 32-year-old quarterback coming off an eight touchdown, 11 interception season with the idea that he’d serve as anything more than a spot-game starter.
A possible short-term upgrade doesn’t seem to outweigh the potential long-term headache at the position.