After New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll benched Daniel Jones during what became a 28-3 home blowout loss to the rival Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 20, Daboll insisted that Jones “will be the quarterback going forward.”
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan revealed on Monday morning that Jones “took all the first-team reps at practice this week and is not expected to be on a short leash Monday night” when the 2-5 Giants play at the 5-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.
Raanan added that multiple Giants players said “they weren’t pushing for a permanent change at quarterback,” but that several noted it may have been a different case if veteran Tyrod Taylor was still the club’s backup. Taylor is now with the New York Jets, and journeyman Drew Lock is Big Blue’s QB2 ahead of 2023 undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito.
Daboll clearly believes Jones gives the Giants the best chance to win at the Steelers even though the 27-year-old has more often than not failed to impress this season. According to ESPN stats, Jones heads into Monday night ranked 25th in the NFL among qualified players with a 45.7 adjusted QBR and 27th with an 80.6 passer rating. He tossed six touchdown passes and four interceptions over New York’s first seven games, and the Giants began Monday ranked 31st in the league with an average of 14.1 points scored per contest.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen explored acquiring Jones’ eventual replacement via the 2024 draft and subsequently declined to deny the club could make the signal-caller a full-time spectator this fall so they can escape what’s left of the four-year contract he signed in March 2023 during the upcoming offseason.
While Daboll understandably doesn’t want to punt on the remainder of the campaign amid whispers suggesting he could be fired in January if the club is viewed as a laughingstock by Week 18, he may have no other choice but to sit a healthy Jones if the 2019 first-round draft pick takes a loss at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium.
As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Giants as six-point underdogs against the Steelers. Jones’ play isn’t all that’s wrong with New York at the moment, but he needs to start showing he can be part of the solution beginning with Monday’s game if he wants to stay in the lineup through at least Christmastime.