Chicago Bears strong safety Jaquan Brisker seems mighty unimpressed with the New York Giants’ decision to give quarterback Daniel Jones a big payday.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Jones agreed to terms on a four-year, $150 million contract extension with the Giants on Tuesday, March 7, that includes $94 million “virtually guaranteed at signing” with up to $35 million more in incentives. The deal comes after Jones had a career year for the Giants in 2022 with 3,205 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions and with just a week to go until the start of 2023 free agency at 4 p.m. ET on March 15.
While the Giants may feel like they have their quarterback, though, Brisker feels confident that New York’s original franchise just signed up for more “trash.”
“MVP lol,” Brisker wrote in response to a tweet about Lamar Jackson not getting paid. “Other Bruh [Jones] got paid today and is trash fam. #FACTS.”
Brisker also doubled down on his Daniel Jones trash talk later and retweeted a similar sentiment from former Super Bowl safety Ryan Clark: “We live in a world where Daniel Jones’ current salary is higher than Lamar Jackson’s.”
Suffice it to say, Brisker’s next matchup with Jones and the Giants should be interesting.
Jaquan Brisker Delivered Strong Rookie Season for Bears
Brisker has earned the right to talk a little bit of smack after how finishing as one of the top rookie safeties in the league during his debut 2022 season. The former Penn State standout started 15 games for the Bears at the strong safety spot and finished with a team-high four sacks and a second-most 104 total tackles along with one interception, two pass deflections, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. According to Pro Football Focus, Brisker was also the highest-graded rookie safety in the league last season among those who played at least 50% of their team’s defensive snaps.
Brisker even got a chance to take a crack at Jones during his impressive rookie season. While the Giants beat the Bears 20-12 in Week 4, Brisker notched his first career sack against Jones and finished with five total tackles in the close matchup. Meanwhile, Jones threw for just 71 yards — his fewest of the season — and zero touchdowns despite still finding the end zone twice with his legs. Point, Chicago’s pass defense.
Bears Banking on Growth From Justin Fields in 2023
While the Giants may have locked in Jones as their new franchise quarterback, the Bears aren’t too far off from having to make their own long-term decisions at quarterback as it pertains to 2021 first-rounder Justin Fields. The Bears have signaled they are all-in on Fields as their starting quarterback in 2023 with general manager Ryan Poles recently telling NFL insider Peter King that “we’ve got to see it through” with him. And if Fields can take another step forward in his development, he could solidify himself as the quarterback the City of Chicago has been longing to have for decades now.
But first, Fields needs to put in the work and use it to get the results.
Don’t misconstrue that as criticism of Fields. He finished his second season with the second-most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history and proved he can be an elite playmaker with his legs. It doesn’t take a deep dive into his tape to see that he made some spectacular throws along the way, too. He didn’t have the extensive passing yards that are typically expected of starting NFL quarterbacks, but he was also working with one of the worst receiving corps in the league and had hit-or-miss protection.
The Bears have an opportunity to maximize the talent around Fields this offseason with a league-most cap space and the No. 1 overall pick in their possession. Until the fans get to see it all in action, though, excitement can only go so far.
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Bears’ Jaquan Brisker Roasts ‘Trash’ QB Over Big Payday