Adam Schefter: ‘I Would Guess’ Daniel Jones Won’t Play Another Snap at QB for Giants

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter believes the Daniel Jones era is likely over for the New York Giants.

“I would guess that we don’t see Daniel Jones play another down for the Giants. That would be my guess right now,” Schefter said on Tuesday.

“Because Brian Daboll’s tone yesterday was different than it was in other weeks. It was always, ‘Daniel Jones is our starter, Daniel Jones is our starter, Daniel Jones is our starter,’ and then yesterday, ‘We’re evaluating everything.'”

Jones rushed for one touchdown and threw two interceptions on Sunday as the Giants fell to 2-8 with an overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Munich.

Daboll stopped short on Monday of saying that Jones is still the starting quarterback after the loss, instead answering that the Giants were “evaluating things” heading into their Week 11 bye, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time here watching our tape and evaluating things,” Daboll said on a Monday Zoom call (h/t Giants.com’s Michael Eisen.) “We’ll do that as a coaching staff over the next week here.”

Asked if he was thinking about a change at quarterback, Daboll answered, “I would say we’re evaluating our team at the bye week is what we’re doing.”

Jones has thrown eight touchdown passes and been picked off seven times through 10 games. He ranks 27th in the NFL with an ESPN adjusted total quarterback ranking of 46.3.

His struggles with pass accuracy were particularly visible in Sunday’s first half as he went 6-for-14 for 54 yards.

The Giants got within touchdown range late in the first half before the drive ended with one of Jones’ passes bouncing off the helmet of outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and into Panthers possession.

The Giants got another red zone chance with six minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Panthers holding just a three-point advantage. This time Jones was unable to connect with running back Tyrone Tracy.

“I think just got to execute in critical situations,” Jones said after the game, per the team’s transcript. “I think the turnovers today killed us. There’s been other things that have held us back in other close games, so we’ve got to look at where we’re coming up short. I’m not sure it’s one thing consistently.”

The Giants return to action on Sunday, Nov. 24 for a home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Should Jones be benched before then, it would be Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito playing under center in his place. Eisen noted that due to the Giants’ bye week, there will likely not be any quarterback news until the team returns from the break on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Jones is in the second season of his four-year, $160 million contract with the Giants, which has a potential out after this season, per Spotrac. Should the Giants plan to exercise the out, the team could be cautious starting Jones going forward due to his injury clause, which will guarantee the quarterback $23 million if he is hurt heading into next season.