With the 2024 NFL draft just around the corner, the New York Giants must decide whether to reset the rookie window or commit to Daniel Jones once again for the quarterback position.
Jones has had a polarizing five-year career in the NFL. He made a playoff appearance in 2022 and demolished a poor Minnesota Vikings defense. However, up against the more stout Philadelphia Eagles team, the Giants were completely embarrassed and were sent packing.
Nonetheless, his performance was enough to convince the Giants brass to give him an extension, but that new deal included an out after the 2024 season.
This upcoming campaign, Jones has a $47.85 million cap hit, but the Giants can get out of his deal following the forthcoming season with $22.2 million in dead salary space. If they were to keep Jones for the long run, he would count $41.6 million against the cap in 2025 and $58.6 in 2026. Considering he hasn’t even sniffed the elite category, paying him upward of $55 million seems like malpractice.
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The Giants Have Every Reason to Move on
With that being said, the Giants have every incentive not to let Jones play in 2024 since there is an injury clause in his contract that would guarantee him his entire 2025 salary, disallowing the team to move on and saving cap space to allocate in free agency next off-season.
If Jones sustains another season-ending injury in 2025, the Giants would be on the hook for his entire $41.6 million salary hit, whereas they can save $19.4 million by cutting him, with an upside of nearly $30 million if they spread the dead money over the final two years of the contract.
Given injury history, not to mention coming off ACL, the Giants have every reason to move on, reset the rookie window, and start a new chapter.
After all, the Giants hired Brian Daboll to develop a young quarterback, and he inherited Jones, who already had a significant number of bad habits. Recently, Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports stated that Jones has legitimate health concerns and that the Giants have more than enough reason to go in a different direction.
This off-season, SChoen focused on positional value, refusing to pay big money at running back or free safety. Instead, he acquired Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers and handed out a massive five-year, $150 million extension with $87 million guaranteed.
Clearly, the Giants are focusing on key positions and they have no money to spend in free agency next off-season if they don’t grab a quarterback in this draft.