Daniel Jones will be the New York Giants‘ starting quarterback for the 2022 NFL season. Beyond that, his future is anybody’s guess.
Jones, 25, is aware of this uncertainty. In a recent (and rare) profile for the New York Post, the former first-round pick was asked about next year and his answer was shaky.
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Here’s the key excerpt from the The Post’s profile on Jones, written by veteran beat reporter Paul Schwartz (emphasis added):
Introspection, especially for public consumption, is not a popular download on Jones’ playlist. He goes with the flow, somewhat, when he is asked for a projection. One year from now, where will you be?
Jones paused.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t put a whole lot of time into it. I’m focused on what I’m doing now, and, hopefully, the plan is to have a lot of success and have a great season and win a lot of games.”
Jones is entering his fourth NFL season with his third different head coach (Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge, and now Brian Daboll). The general manager that drafted him, Dave Gettleman, is no longer with the team. The new GM, Joe Schoen, turned down the fifth-year option in Jones’ rookie contract earlier this offseason.
🎥 #Giants beat reporter @NYPost_Schwartz talks with @DHenryTV about his interview with QB Daniel Jones t.co/UmBsSbKxzR
The Giants are going to work with Jones this season, but the new regime is in no way married to him beyond 2022. They will try to salvage what they can from a quarterback who has gone 12-25 as a starter and has missed several games due to injuries over the past three seasons.
As a rookie, Jones threw 24 touchdown passes in 13 games (12 starts). He also threw 17 interceptions and led the NFL with 19 fumbles. Efforts to curb the turnovers since then have been fairly successful, but they’ve also limited Jones’ ability to make explosive plays. In his past 25 starts, he’s only produced just 21 touchdown passes (three fewer than his rookie season).
Under Daboll this season, the Giants will try to strike a balance between protecting the football and letting Jones take more risks.
Jones Admitted The Lack of Success Weighs on Him
Jones opened up about the past, as well as the future, in The Post’s profile on him. He may not show it on the field or in his post-game press conferences, but Jones admitted that his lack of success with the Giants does weigh on him.
“Yeah, it weighs on me a great deal,” Jones told The Post. “When you put a lot of time and effort into something and you don’t see the results, I think that’s tough when you’re doing anything. Playing football in the NFL, playing football in New York, I think there’s a heavy weight to that. I and the whole team feel that and we’re working as hard as we can to avoid being in this situation in the future. Yeah, it weighs on me heavy.”
Giants fans may be split on Jones, but they can all agree that few NFL quarterbacks would survive in the situation he’s faced through three seasons. On top of all the coaching changes, the Giants have failed to assemble a functional offensive line and are constantly dealing with injuries to key playmakers.
Jones didn’t blame those factors for his lack of success, but he did acknowledge them.
“It doesn’t make it easier,” Jones said, per The Post.
Eli Manning is ‘Excited’ For Jones in 2022
Jones replaced Eli Manning as the Giants’ starting quarterback in 2019 and has drawn comparisons to the two-time Super Bowl MVP for his demeanor (not so much for his play). Manning, who retired after the 2019 season, has remained around the team and has an optimistic view of the future.
“I think with Coach Daboll, and what they’re doing, and that staff, and (new GM) Joe Schoen, having been around the facility some, the atmosphere has changed,” Manning said on NFL Network over the weekend, per NFL.com. “So I’m excited for Daniel, I know he’s worked extremely hard and you know, been through a lot of offenses, a lot of coaching changes, so hopefully this can be the right one.”
If Jones wants to be the Giants quarterback beyond the 2022 season, he better hope Manning is accurate in his analysis.
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Giants QB Daniel Jones Gives Shaky Answer When Asked About 2023 NFL Season