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The New York Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones parted ways on Friday, November 22. It’s a breakup that was a long time in the making, but the New York Giants took to X on Friday to officially announce that they had split with Jones.
“Daniel has been a great representative of our organization, first class in every way,” Giants president John Mara wrote on X.
Now, the Giants are getting serious when it comes to looking for a new franchise quarterback, and some NFL analysts and experts think a pie-in-the-sky deal that lands the Giants veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Atlanta Falcons could actually happen.
Atlanta Falcons Could Be Willing to Let Kirk Cousins Go
In a November 19 piece for Big Blue View, writer and NFL analyst Ed Valentine names Cousins a potential fit for the Giants. Sure, Cousins signed a big deal with the Falcons, but the Falcons signed a top quarterback during the 2024 NFL draft, so all bets are off.
“No matter what the Atlanta Falcons say, they didn’t draft Michael Penix No. 8 overall this past offseason to watch him rot on the bench,” Valentine wrote. “The Falcons are leading the NFC South, but don’t let anyone kid you about how good they are. They are only 6-5.”
He noted that Cousins will have three years and $97.5 million in base salary left on his four-year, $180 million Atlanta Falcons contract.
“He would be 37 next season, and would obviously be just a short-term solution,” Valentine added.
It’s not just Valentine. Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports throws Cousins’ name into the bucket, too.
“It’s a longshot, but he really could be available in a trade since the Falcons have Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 overall pick in the last draft, sitting behind him and probably can’t afford to leave him there for long,” Vacchiano wrote in the November 22 feature. “The Falcons would have to be willing — or enticed — to eat $65 million in ‘dead money’ on their cap. But he’d only cost the Giants $27.5 million for 2025, and that’s the last guaranteed money on his deal.”
One more NFL expert, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, concurs.
“Maybe it’s a pipe dream. But the Giants’ regime could be under win-now pressure,” Dunleavy stated in the November 18 piece. He added that, “The Falcons would have a $60 million dead salary-cap charge and Cousins has a no-trade clause.”
Other Big-Named Daniel Jones Replacement Options
Of course, a lot of names are being floated around to replace Jones, and some of them are just as big as Cousins. Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings is another high-profile option.
“His reward for a resurgent season with the Vikings is likely another trip to the open market and his fifth different team in six years,” wrote Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA Today in a November 18 feature. “Though he has posted a career-best 100 passer rating, Darnold doesn’t seem to be any threat to hold on to the starting job past this season, with first-round pick J.J. McCarthy expected to take the reins after missing his entire rookie campaign due to a knee injury.”
Another option is Justin Fields of the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Middlehurst-Schwartz noting that “Like Darnold, Fields seems bound to return to the free agent market this spring as another fringe starter who serves as somewhat of a placeholder for a franchise eyeing a top draft pick.”
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