Giants are set up perfectly to move on from Daniel Jones if need be in 2023

New York Giants, Daniel Jones
Dec 13, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) throws a warm up pass before a game against the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

It is no secret that New York Giants ownership is completely committed to quarterback Daniel Jones moving forward, but they will listen to their new general manager and head coach regarding his potential for the future.

Jones has had an up-and-down career up to this point, enjoying 24 touchdown passes as a rookie and just 10 this past season under coordinator Jason Garrett. Jones has also sustained a number of injuries that have disrupted his progress and development, but a poor offensive system and line have doomed him from the start.

At one point, Jones was known as one of the best deep-ball passers in football, so the Giants went out and signed Kenny Golladay on a massive four-year, $72 million deal.

Unfortunately, Golladay was virtually useless this past season, scoring zero touchdowns and making a minimal impact toward the team’s four-win season.

Nonetheless, co-owner John Mara stated that all of their general manager and head coach candidates believe that Daniel Jones is a quarterback they can win with, but the team is set up perfectly to move on if he struggles in 2022.

New head coach Brian Daboll signified that they would build a system around Jones and focus on his strengths as a primary catalyst on offense. Building the foundational pieces he’s comfortable with and adding quality coaches is all part of the equation.

“One of the things I asked him to do — I said, ‘Hey, give me some things that you really liked in your last three years you did at Duke,’ ” Daboll told him. “That’s where it’s gonna start, is some foundational pieces that he feels comfortable with. I think we’ll add good coaches, we’ll have a good support system and we’ll try to bring in the best players we can bring. But I think this is gonna be a day-to-day process, I’m not gonna put any expectations on him. I know he wants to do well, he’s got the right mindset, he’s dedicated, he’s a hard worker and I’m looking forward to working with him. We are looking forward to working with him.”

Mara already indicated that Jones will be the starter for 2022, allowing management to evaluate him under a more refined and modernized offensive scheme.

“I would say yes,” Mara said. “Daniel will get a chance next year and we’ll hopefully be able to get a fair evaluation of him and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll go to plan B. But we have a lot of confidence that it will work out.”

Luckily for the Giants, they had two top 10 picks this upcoming draft, providing them an opportunity to trade back and collect more capital for 2023 as a last resort. It might be advisable to execute a similar trade as they did with the Chicago Bears in last year’s draft.

The Giants will likely be right back at square one if Daniel Jones struggles, especially after roster turnover. It will take time for the rebuild to set in, but if the Giants find themselves with a top pick once again in 2023, Daboll and Joe Schoen have an opportunity to land a quarterback, notably either Bryce Young or CJ Stroud.

In conclusion, even though management and ownership are high on Jones, the team has a sound ‘Plan B’ ready to execute in 2023 if need be. However, the 2022 NFL draft should give us a lot of answers to what they are thinking long-term.