The New York Giants are starting to turn the page on a muddied chapter for the franchise.
Quarterback Daniel Jones was released Friday after spending six seasons with the team. He leaves with a suboptimal 22-44-1 record but also has led the franchise to its only playoff win (2022) since Super Bowl XLVI.
It’s definitive that the Jones era in New York was an utter failure but who ultimately deserves the blame?
Jones ended his tenure with the fifth-most passing yards in franchise history, but his 47 career interceptions were the prime focus of criticism. Consistency was hard to find in his time as a Giant.
In his defense, he never had a stable coaching staff surrounding him. Pat Shurmur (one season), Joe Judge (two seasons) and Daboll (three seasons) don’t add up to a conducive environment for success.
The organization poorly handled benching him, resulting in hard feelings sprouting from Jones’ teammates in the locker room.
Financially, head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen share the blame for betting on Jones repeating his 2022 performance. Signing him to a mammoth four-year, $160M contract instead of investing in arguably the team’s best player, running back Saquon Barkley, did not work out whatsoever.
But none of the clownery over the last few years would’ve ever happened if then-general manager Dave Gettleman didn’t waste the 6th overall pick on Jones in 2019.
He was never a first-round talent and there were several other options available like Dwayne Haskins or, instead, addressing different position needs. Jones, if he was truly the guy, would’ve been available in later rounds.
NFL Network’s Rich Eisen weighed in on Jones’ release on Friday and the conclusion was clear, Gettleman’s selection set the franchise back years.
