NFL GM Sees Daniel Jones as ‘Bridge Starter’ in FA If Cut by Giants After Season

Julia StumbaughSeptember 26, 2024

Nic Antaya/Getty Images

An NFL general manager sees New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones as “maybe a bridge starter” should he be cut following the 2024 season.

“It’s a situation probably where he’s competing to start,” the anonymous GM told ESPN’s Jordan Raanan about Jones’ potential value in free agency.

Jones is set to receive a $30 million salary in 2025, which the general manager described as a “relative bargain” that could keep him in New York if the Giants decide to use the 2025 draft to bring in competition.

“They weren’t shy about drafting [a quarterback to compete with Jones] this year,” the GM told Raanan. “So why would that change?”

Jones has started out his sixth season in New York by leading the Giants to a 1-2 record, completing a career-low 59.6 percent of his passes for 600 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Giants inked Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal when he responded to the team declining his fifth-year rookie option by leading them to a playoff berth as he threw for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and five picks while adding seven touchdowns on the ground.

Jones has since struggled to live up to the expectations involved in becoming the ninth $40 million quarterback in the NFL. In 2023 he led the Giants to a 1-5 record while scoring three total touchdowns and throwing six interceptions before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in Week 9.

That has led to another campaign seen as a “prove-it” season for Jones given the potential out built into his deal following the 2024 season.

The dead cap that the Giants would take on by releasing Jones falls from just under $70 million this season to about $22 million in 2025, per Spotrac. That means it would be cheaper for the Giants to cut him than retain him on the roster next season.

That decision would have to come before the start of the 2025 season, as Jones is owed $12 million of next season’s salary on the fifth day of the league year, Spotrac notes. The quarterback also holds $23 million in injury guarantees.

After throwing two interceptions in a Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Jones has put together two steadier performances during a Week 2 loss at the Washington Commanders and the first win of the season last Sunday at the Cleveland Browns.

He will look to make his case for the Giants to keep him on in 2025 by building on that trajectory as the season progresses, starting with Thursday night’s NFC East clash with the Dallas Cowboys at home.