Daniel Jones ‘grateful’ for opportunity as Giants starting QB in first comments since benching Nov 21, 2024

With the dust beginning to settle on the New York Giants’ change at quarterback, Daniel Jones, now relegated to third-string backup duty after nearly six seasons at the helm, spoke to the media Thursday for the first time since his demotion this week.

The former No. 6 overall pick began his availability with a classy, heartfelt statement which prefaced his thoughts on the matter.

“The opportunity to play for the New York Giants was truly a dream come true, and I’m extremely grateful to the Mara and Tisch families for the chance to play here,” Jones said. “The Giants are truly a first-class organization, and I have nothing but genuine respect and appreciation for the people who have built it and who help carry on that tradition. I’ve met so many special people and created relationships that will truly last a lifetime. Thank you to all my teammates, coaches and staff that have done so much for me these past six years. There have been some great times, but of course we all wish there had been more of those.

“I take full responsibility for my part in not bringing more wins. No one wanted to win more games worse than me, and I gave everything I had on the field and in my preparation. Of course this season has been disappointing for all, and of course I wish I could have done more. I’m 100 percent accountable for my part. I did not play well enough consistently enough to help the team get the results. The reality of the NFL is it’s hard to win games and requires consistent performance from everyone involved. We didn’t do that well enough, so the idea to change something happens, and I understand.

“I love the game, I love being part of a team, I’m excited for the next opportunity, I know there’s a lot of good football in front of me and I’m excited about that. To all the fans, I have deep respect and appreciation for your passion and love for the Giants. The fans are a huge part of what makes playing for the Giants so special.”

Giants head coach Brian Daboll’s decision to bench Jones came with little surprise. Mired in a 2-8 campaign with an offense ranked last in the NFL in scoring (15.6 points per game), the writing was on the wall for Jones. However, the hefty $160 million contract he was playing under might have compelled the team’s fateful decision to drag on longer than most comparable situations.

Daboll finally decided to make the change during the team’s bye week and after a disappointing Week 10 performance from Jones, whose persistent struggles in the passing game resulted in an overtime loss to the two-win Panthers on a big stage in Munich.

Jones, who threw two interceptions and zero touchdowns in the loss, admitted there was a looming sense of worry when asked if he was surprised about his benching.

“It’s maybe a little bit in the back of your mind, but I was still kind of focused on what I needed to do to prepare and to play that game,” Jones said. “Obviously after the game, you’re just disappointed and you’re reviewing what happened.”

The biggest surprise of Jones’ demotion was the QB depth chart announced by Daboll on Tuesday. Tommy DeVito — not veteran Drew Lock, who was inked this offseason to back up Jones — was named the Giants’ starter. Jones is slated to go forward as the third-stringer with Lock remaining as the team’s primary backup. The Giants have also since added a QB to the room, signing Tim Boyle to the practice squad.

During Thursday’s practice, Jones was seen completely out of the QB picture at one point, spending part of the open portion wearing a red scout-team jersey while lined up at safety during an offensive install period, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.

It was a clear sign of New York beginning its transition out of the Jones era. When asked if he plans to be with the Giants the rest of this season, Jones maintained that while he’s processing that scenario, he wants to be helpful for DeVito as the second-year QB readies himself for his seventh career start on Sunday against the Buccaneers.

“I think I’m still kind of processing, and for now, I’m doing the best I can to help Tommy prepare, help the team prepare,” Jones said. “That’s what I’m gonna do right now. So, processing that. I think, obviously, a decision was made, and [I’m] not playing. So I think that’s what that was framed as.”

Jones later added that the injury guarantee in the final year of his current contract might have something to do with him being out of the picture. An injury would net him $23 million guaranteed in 2025, but as it stands today with Jones firmly on the sideline, there’s no remaining guaranteed salary on his contract. It’s a situation not uncommon in recent seasons, with Derek Carr and Russell Wilson’s eras ending unceremoniously in Las Vegas and Denver, respectively.

“Yeah, I think that was a piece of the conversation, for sure,” Jones said. “I wanted to play, I wanted to play badly and did what I could to play, but yeah, I think it was a part of it. I think most of those discussions took place with my agent and Joe.”

Jones added: “I want to be on the field. I think I tried to do as much as I could to make that possible and create a situation where we were both comfortable. … It’s an unfortunate business side of the game.”

Selected in 2019 as the franchise QB to follow the Eli Manning era, Jones arrived in the Big Apple under plenty of scrutiny before even stepping foot into MetLife Stadium. His Giants career saw more lows than highs, but the dual-threat QB showed flashes of great potential along the way, peaking during a 2022 season where he led New York to a playoff berth and upset win over the Vikings. He also persevered through two season-ending injuries through it all and rarely complained despite experiencing an abundance of criticism from the jump, unfair or not.

Jones’ record as the Giants’ starter is seemingly set at 24-44-1 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs.

Although he will remain with the team in 2024 and isn’t exactly gone, Thursday’s media session felt like a goodbye from Jones. One would be hard-pressed to find QBs at any level take a benching graciously, especially after being at the helm for so long and still in his athletic prime. Instead, Jones is putting his best foot forward before getting his next opportunity to once again resume playing in the NFL.