The Giants cracked open the door to benching Daniel Jones.
Head coach Brian Daboll’s weekly day-after-game vote of confidence for Jones as the starting quarterback moving forward was replaced Monday by a more tepid reply to the same old question.
“We’re going to spend a lot of time here watching our tape and evaluating things,” Daboll said. “We’ll do that as a coaching staff over the next week.”
When it was pointed out to Daboll that his response was less definitive than when he reaffirmed Jones as the starter on Oct. 21, Oct. 29 and Nov. 4, he referred to the week off ahead of the next game Nov. 24 against the Buccaneers.
“Evaluating our team at the bye week is what we are doing,” Daboll said.
Of course, the timing only adds to the logic behind making a quarterback change now, when either second-stringer Drew Lock or third-stringer Tommy DeVito is afforded the most possible preparation time to step in.
Neither backup has taken any known first-team reps in practice since the season began.
Benching the injury-prone Jones no longer is solely about risking the $23 million injury guarantee in his contract that would trigger if the Giants (2-8) want to release him and he can’t pᴀss a physical next March.
The Giants are 3-13 in Jones’ 16 starts since signing a four-year, $160 million contract extension after a career-best year that included a playoff victory.
He threw two devastating red-zone interceptions Sunday during a 20-17 overtime loss to the Panthers.
By comparison, the Giants are 5-6 since the start of 2023 in games started by DeVito and former backup Tyrod Taylor.
Jones has thrown nine touchdowns or fewer after 10 games in four of the last five seasons.
Of all other NFL quarterbacks who have started the first 10 games of a season during that span, combined, there have been just two seasons with nine TDs or fewer.Even with Daboll calling plays this season after two seasons of leaving it in the hands of offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, the Giants rank second to last in the NFL in points per game (15.6).
Daboll declined to say whether Jones’ $47.8 million salary-cap charge — the second-largest in the NFL in 2024, per spotrac.com — could be a factor in the decision.
General manager Joe Schoen is expected to address the media during the bye week.
“We’ll make the decision that we think is best for our team,” Daboll said.
If the Giants pull Jones, the case for turning to Lock, 27, begins with his 23 career starts.
Bypᴀssing Lock would mean a wasted one-year, $5 million contract and would send a mixed message to the locker room and to future free agents about the opportunity for playing time.
The Giants clearly think that Lock is a superior player to DeVito based on their pursuit of him in the offseason and the depth chart to this point.
It would behoove Daboll’s job security to show that his offense can be more productive with a different quarterback.
“We’re all in this thing together,” Daboll said, “and we’re all looking to make improvements.”
Giants fans who boo at home games would welcome a change.
The case for DeVito, 26, begins with further developing a second-year pro and determining if he is a viable option to re-sign as a future starter or cost-effective No. 2.
A welcomed side effect would be that DeVito remains incredibly popular with the fan base as the New Jersey native who went from undrafted to viral sensation because of his energetic play, gunslinger style and Italian heritage.
Giants owner John Mara was forewarned of past decisions to bench quarterback Eli Manning in 2017 and 2019. He and Jones reportedly spoke directly at points during Jones’ extension talks in 2022.
So, would Mara have to sign off on benching Jones?
“Joe and I communicate with our ownership group on a daily basis,” Daboll said. “Not just about the quarterback, but about every position. We’ll do what we normally do. If there are any [lineup] changes, regardless of the position, we’ll always communicate. I think that’s very important and healthy for the organization.”
Jones’ struggles have provided a sort of human shield for Daboll and Schoen, hiding some of the team’s many other flaws like rushing defense, a lack of takeaways, special teams errors, draft disappointments and salary-cap squeezing.
“Myself, Joe, ownership and players,” Daboll said, “no one’s happy with the results and where we’re at.”
