By Ben Tredinnick
Photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
The New York Giants have made the decision to bench quarterback Daniel Jones after his poor form this season. Jones, who spent most of the 2023 season out injured, struggled in most of the game he played.
Despite the occasion strong performance, like the one that was seen in the surprise win against the Seattle Seahawks, he was never able to live up to the high expectations placed onto him as the quarterback of one of the NFL’s biggest franchises.
This is something that has been a common story during the Daniel Jones era, which is now officially over.
Jones was a suprise pick by the Giants, who picked him as the number six overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. His time in college with the Duke Blue Devils (a school he chose to go to as a walk on, despite receiving a scholarship offer from Princeton) was hardly noteworthy.
Yet, the Giants saw something in him, and Jones almost immediately became the successor to veteran quarterback Eli Manning, a man who brought to the team two Super Bowls, and someone who Giants fans hold in high regard.
Filling in for Eli was not going to be a easy job, but a strong performance from Jones in his debut, where he scored the winning touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, gave fans hope that he could be the future.
This hope was misguided.
Throughout the seven seasons, he was the Giants quarterback, Jones was injured in five of them, with a carousel of backup quarterbacks replacing him as starter. Doing this is not the best way for a team to succeed.
But, when he was healthy, Jones was still unable to deliver consistently. It was always an overthrown pass, a fumble, or a pass that was easily intercepted that held him back. This is notable throughout his time with the Giants, but in what became his last game for the team in Germany two weeks ago, these interceptions cost the team the win.
However, Jones was able to have one strong season with the team, and he did this when he needed it the most. With his contract on the line, Jones played his best football during the 2022 season. This was the Giants best season in years, and he was able to lead them to the divisional round of the playoffs, something that the team had not done since their Super Bowl 46 winning season.
This earned him a $160 million contract over four years. However, since then, Jones has had a 3-13 record and was becoming a massive liability for the Giants who knew that one more injury to Jones would result in a large payout.
The news of his benching and subsequent drop-down of the depth chart is not surprising considering what he has failed to do over the season.
He will be replaced by Tommy DeVito, who quickly made himself a fan favorite last season and won four consecutive games.
However, these wins did put the Giants out of contention for one of the numerous quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, whom we are now seeing perform at a high level.
If DeVito is able to turn around the Giants and make them win, he will again take the Giants out of contention for someone like Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, or Quinn Ewers in the 2025 NFL Draft.
This may mean that Tommy DeVito is here to stay.
But, whoever the Giants quarterback may be in 2025, it will not be Daniel Jones. His seven years have continued what has been a hard decade for Giants fans, who have had to watch their team play poorly while their rivals succeed.
Change is needed, but will replacing “Danny Dimes” with “Tommy Cutlets” be enough to win the fans back?
Ben Tredinnick is a contributor for The MMM Journal (and a massive fan of the New York Giants).
He can be reached on X at @BMTredinnick, and on Instagram at b.m.tredinnick
