When quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a torn ACL in Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders, many questioned whether or not he had played his final snap for the New York Giants.
That was never realistic given his contract, but many still postulated that he could be relegated to a backup role before being shown the door.
That now seems unlikely to happen.
During his press conference on Monday morning, Giants general manager Joe Schoen revealed that he expects Jones to reassume his starting role in 2024 once he returns to health.
“The expectation is that when Daniel is healthy, he will be our starting quarterback,” Schoen told reporters. “That’s the expectation moving forward.”
Schoen did acknowledge that with “no crystal ball” on hand, no one is certain when Jones will be back. He could return and start in Week 1 or he may miss a few weeks to start next season.
With fellow quarterback Tyrod Taylor on an expiring contract and potentially headed for free agency, Schoen also acknowledged that addressing the position will be a must this offseason.
“I think we’re going to have to do something (at) quarterback, whether it’s free agency or the draft,” Schoen said. “Tyrod’s contract is up, (Tommy) DeVito is obviously under contract and Daniel, we don’t know when he’s going to be ready.
“Just from an offseason program standpoint, that will be a position we’ll have to look at. Again, there are different avenues, free agency or the draft, but we’ll have to address it at some point.”
Schoen also left open the possibility that they could still select a quarterback in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL draft but essentially committed to a “best player available” approach. He also noted that the first-round bust potential for quarterbacks dating back to 2018 was high.
Ultimately, Schoen says, they know what they have in Jones and until they can meet face-to-face with some of the prospects, there’s greater uncertainty. But even when that time comes, Schoen says, the organization still has complete faith in Jones.
“I’ve seen it. You all saw (him) last season. The guy won 10 games, he won a road playoff game for the Giants. You guys saw the preseason,” Schoen said. “I just think we got punched in the nose early on, we dug ourselves a hole and we weren’t able to get out of it.
“I still believe in Daniel.”
A lot can change between now and April but Schoen has been quite transparent since taking over as the Giants GM. If he says expectations are that Jones will start in 2024, then chances are Jones will start in 2024.
Still, don’t be surprised if the Giants spend a premium pick on a top quarterback and sit them behind Jones like the Green Bay Packers did with Jordan Love behind Aaron Rodgers.
