The New York Giants decided to roll with Daniel Jones at quarterback this past offseason after inking him to a four-year, $160 million deal in March of 2023 that basically locked them into him for at least the 2024 season.
They had a pipe dream of landing a franchise quarterback in this year’s draft, hoping somehow to move up from No. 6 overall to No. 3 but none of the teams that owned those picks had any desire to move back.
Free agency offered a few options, one being Russell Wilson — who wasn’t about to ride the pines behind Jones — a player the Giants were locked into. He opted to sign with Pittsburgh, where he is now leading the Steelers toward the AFC Playoffs.
The Giants instead decided to back up Jones with Drew Lock on a one-year deal. Lock was told that Jones was the starter and he agreed to sign as a backup.
Lock was signed to a one-year, $5 million deal. Wilson signed with the Steelers for the veteran minimum — $1.2 million.
On Tuesday, Giants general manager Joe Schoen was asked if he wished he did anything different with the quarterback position, specifically in regard to Wilson, who visited with them.
“When people are free agents and you go through the process, you do what you do,” he said. “If it’s a good fit, then sometimes they come. If they’re not, you can’t make them. So, again, you go through the process of free agency, whether it’s any position. And that’s how free agency works. And players decide where they want to go and what they want to do. But some of that stuff is out of your control.”
Now, we’re in Week 10 and Wilson, who took over the starting job from Justin Fields in Week 7, has led the Steelers to three straight wins, one over the Giants.
Meanwhile, The Giants are 2-8 and on a five-game skid as they head into their bye. Jones has been struggling and the Giants are “evaluating” whether or not they are going to continue to start him. He has a clause in his contract that has an injury guarantee that would cost them $23 million if it kicks in.
It was clear this past week that Jones has been costing them games, performing poorly in the red zone as well as failing to execute big plays down the field.
Considering the Giants are 1-5 in one-score games, better play at quarterback could have them 4-6 or 5-5 instead of 2-8 this season.
Wilson, a Super Bowl championship quarterback who still has some gas in the tank, could have been that guy.
