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This “feels” like Baker Mayfield landing with the Los Angeles Rams on waivers after his 2022 release from the Carolina Panthers, ESPN Radio’s Evan Cohen posted on X after the New York Giants revealed that they would be granting quarterback Daniel Jones his immediate release from the organization on November 22.
Like Jones, Mayfield was a former first-round talent with something to prove. The only difference is, Carolina was his second NFL franchise, not his first.
Either way, Mayfield was looking to show the league that he could still sling it and perhaps parlay the remainder of the year into a bridge contract the following offseason. With that in mind, the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys keep coming up as the ideal 2024 landing spot for Jones.
Cohen suggested Dallas as the top option himself, describing the Cowboys as a chance to “sign with a bad team that still thinks they can win” — but he wasn’t alone.
On just about every list of potential landing spots, the Cowboys are either named first, or within the top five, and that’d be a disaster of an outcome for Big Blue with the Giants facing off against Dallas on Thanksgiving next week.
DraftKings writer Sean Barnard mentioned the Cowboys as the number one landing spot for Jones to close out the season, while Pro Football Network placed them second behind the Las Vegas Raiders and Newsweek put Jerry Jones and Dallas fifth on their list.
With Dak Prescott done for the season, there is a Mayfield-like opening for Daniel Jones with the Cowboys.
“If the former Duke product wants his quickest path to having a chance to start games, his former rival may be Jones’ best chance,” Barnard argued, while also acknowledging that owner Jerry Jones is “not afraid to make a splash.”
Which Other NFL Teams Might Make Sense as a 2024 Landing Spot for Daniel Jones?
Besides the Cowboys, the Miami Dolphins have also come up as a popular realistic landing spot for Jones in 2024.
“Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed over a month of the season, and the Dolphins became arguably the worst team in football during that time,” Newsweek’s Noah Camras reasoned. “It would make sense for Miami, a team with playoff aspirations, to find a strong backup for the stretch run. Jones would be just that — and his dual-threat abilities would be perfect in a Mike McDaniel offense.”
Camras added that “this one is actually my favorite landing spot” for Jones. And DraftKings and Pro Football Network seconded this recommendation, highlighting Miami as a possibility — although, as a backup, not a starter.
The aforementioned Raiders were another that could make sense, but Cohen disagreed with Las Vegas as a potential destination reminding that they might prefer to “benefit from losing” games as they look to draft their next franchise QB. He included the Tennessee Titans in a similar category.
Playoff contenders with a potential need or stabilizer at quarterback include the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings, and the Rams and San Francisco 49ers were mentioned as options that could look to groom Jones in the event that Matthew Stafford or Brock Purdy suffer an injury.
Cap Implications of Daniel Jones’ Release From Giants
If you’re a Giants fan reading this, the one silver lining is that Jones signing elsewhere could actually help your team financially according to former NFL sports agent Joel Corry.
“Since Daniel Jones’ fully GTD $35.5M 2024 base salary has an offset, the Giants will get a little salary cap relief if he signs with another team after clearing waivers,” Corry explained. “Jones will make the prorated amount of his $1.125M league minimum salary ($62,500 per week) on a new team.”
Giants beat reporter Dan Duggan (The Athletic) also confirmed that releasing Jones now versus the offseason has “no impact” on his dead cap hits. With Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald adding: “Assuming he is not claimed Daniel Jones’ cap hit with the Giants will be $47.105M this year and $22.21M in 2025.”
Per ESPN NYG beat reporter Jordan Raanan, “Jones met with Giants president and owner John Mara and had multiple conversations with coach Brian Daboll on Friday morning. The two sides mutually agreed that it ‘would be best for him and for the team’ to move on, Mara said in a statement.”
“Daniel has been a great representative of our organization, first class in every way,” Mara stated publicly, bidding Jones farewell. “His handling of this situation yesterday exemplifies just that. We are all disappointed in how things have worked out.”
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