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The New York Giants might want Drew Lock to do more than be the backup for Daniel Jones. That’s according to Seattle Seahawks’ general manager John Schneider, who suggested the Giants “sold” Lock on the chance to be the starting quarterback.
Scheider was speaking on “The Wyman and Bob Show” for 710 Seattle Sports on Thursday, March 14. He was asked about not bringing Lock back and instead seeing the passer agree a one-year deal with the Giants in 2024 NFL free agency.
The Seahawks’ GM explained how the Giants “basically sold him on the opportunity to compete to be the starter, and he felt like it was the right opportunity.”
Significantly, Schneider also explained how Lock viewed the Giants’ situation as similar to one faced by another veteran quarterback last offseason: “He looked at Baker Mayfield’s opportunity last year and felt that this could be something similar.”
The Mayfield comparison is an ominous one for Jones.
Drew Lock Wants Baker Mayfield Career Renaissance
Baker Mayfield parlayed a brief stint as a backup for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 into becoming a starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a year later.
Leading the Bucs to the playoffs and a postseason win got Mayfield paid ahead of free agency. The signal-caller drafted first overall in 2018 was rewarded with a three-year contract worth $100 million.
Like Mayfield once did, Lock has gone from touted prospect to riding the bench. Selected with the 42nd pick by the Denver Broncos in 2019, Lock lost his starting job and became part of the ill-fated trade for Russell Wilson just three years later.
Not being able to beat out Geno Smith for the starting job in Seattle further damaged Lock’s stock. He did make two starts last season, including a win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14.
Lock also completed two of six passes for 63 yards when the Seahawks beat the Giants 24-3 at MetLife Stadium in Week 4. This 51-yard connection with tight end Noah Fant, after escaping pressure, hinted at the playmaking potential in Lock’s game.
Perhaps, as Schneider indicated, the Giants will give Lock every chance to reach his full potential. Even if his development comes at Jones’ expense.
Giants Have Been Backing Daniel Jones
Schneider’s counterpart with the Giants, Joe Schoen, has been backing Jones. At least in public.
Schoen told reporters at the annual NFL Scouting Combine he maintains “faith in Daniel as our starting quarterback,” per Charlotte Carroll and Jenna West of The Athletic.
It’s hardly surprising Schoen remains vocal in his support of Jones. The GM’s future is closely tied to how his anointed QB1 performs.
It was Schoen who opted to hand Jones a deal worth $160-million over four years last offseason. The decision was a contentious one, since paying Jones came at the expense of doing the same for star running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley’s since made a controversial switch to the Eagles, but the Giants are left waiting on Jones to live up to the contract. A neck injury and a torn ACL ensured he didn’t come close last season, but turnovers and sacks also played a part in Jones’ decline from a career year in 2022.
He took 30 sacks and tossed six interceptions across six mediocre starts. Those numbers suggest the Giants would be smart to create genuine competition between Lock and Jones.
Yet, the latter is hardly likely to warm to news his job is under threat from a newcomer. Any hint Lock has a chance to be more than just a deputy will further stoke a heated debate about Jones’ future.
It’s a debate that won’t be settled, one way or another, until the Giants make the sixth pick in this year’s draft.
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