Coming out of their Week 11 bye, New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll revealed the decision to bench quarterback Daniel Jones in favor of third-string backup Tommy DeVito.
Jones was demoted to QB4 shortly thereafter and relegated to work as the scout team safety.
As it turns out, that was still more practice participation than the Giants preferred out of Jones, who had an injury guarantee for 2025.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the Giants asked Jones to remain away from the team after his benching. When that request was denied, they drastically reduced his level of participation, even limiting the amount of weight work he was able to do at team facilities.
For starters, the Giants initially wanted Jones to stay home, with pay. That’s what the Raiders did two years ago, when they benched quarterback Derek Carr to avoid a $40 million guarantee in 2023. Carr agreed.
His first choice, we’re told, was to remain active — and to help the other quarterbacks prepare to win games. When he decided not to stay home, the Giants altered his workout program, in order to minimize if not eliminate the possibility of injury. He wasn’t going to be throwing at practice, and his lifting program was significantly restricted. All in the name of keeping him healthy.
Since Jones was permitted to do little other than stand around, he went to co-owner John Mara and requested his release, which was granted. He signed to the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad just a few days later.
During a Thanksgiving Day broadcast of the Giants-Dallas Cowboys game, retired quarterback Tom Brady ripped Jones and essentially accused him of quitting on the team. Interestingly, Florio reports that Brady never reached out to Jones to ask about his side of the story.
Brady, we’re told, didn’t reach out to Jones or his representation to obtain an explanation as to why Jones asked to be released.
Jones is a competitor, so it’s no surprise that he wanted to work or be allowed to work elsewhere.
