Late last week, Victor Cruz expressed his belief that the New York Giants need to move on from quarterback Daniel Jones and tear things down offensively.
Cruz’s commentary was met with applause from a large portion of the Giants fanbase but that same enthusiasm was not expressed when Eli Manning offered up his two cents on Wednesday.
Contrary to Cruz, Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, says the Giants need to stick with Jones as their long-term quarterback to continue building around him.
“They saw Daniel Jones, they were around him. They had him for a year and they trusted that, ‘Hey, this is a kid that has a bunch of upside,'” Manning said on the Marchand & Ourand Sports Media Podcast. “He’s still in the first year of the offense, played extremely well. He can run, he’s tough. He can make the throws. Just unfortunately, this was a tough year with injuries. . . And so, I think you still got to trust your quarterback.
“He’s going to come back, he’s going to be healthy. He works hard. He’s a great teammate. He does all the intangible things really, really well, and I think they got to trust him, can put some guys, get help around them and continue to grow with these teams. I think when you sign your key guys to contracts, Saquon (Barkley), Dexter Lawrence, Daniel . . . you put these guys, you keep adding guys around them and you don’t just say, hey, switch it up right away because you have one bad year.”
Jones had a breakout campaign under first-year head coach Brian Daboll in 2022, leading the Giants to their first playoff win since Super Bowl XLVI.
But that success was left behind when the NFL calendar flipped. Jones struggled here in 2023 before landing on season-ending injured reserve (IR) due to a torn ACL.
Of course, DJ was far from alone as the entire offense (and team) took a major step back. They are currently in the midst of one of their worst seasons in franchise history and are on pace to set several all-time marks for futility.
Headed for a top pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Giants have been heavily scouting the nation’s top quarterbacks. However, multiple recent reports suggest that Jones will be back next season and will likely reassume his role under center.
H/T: New York Post.
