Daniel Jones released by Giants: Timeline leading up to QB’s demise in New York

Somehow, the New York Giants have effectively cut bait with Daniel Jones twice in the matter of a week. The first chasm came when the team emerged out of its Week 11 bye and announced that Jones would no longer be the starting quarterback, installing Tommy DeVito as the club’s signal-caller going forward. Then, the final blow came just days later after granting Jones’ request to be released. 

While Jones’ overall tenure with the Giants proved to be a slow burn that lasted just under six seasons after being the No. 6 pick in 2019, his final days in New York unraveled rather quickly and had a few odd quirks before being let go. 

Below, we’ll chronicle the notable moment stretching from when Jones was demoted leading up to his eventual release. 

Nov. 18: Daniel Jones benched, Tommy DeVito named starter

There were murmurs during the bye week that the Giants had not yet informed the team of who would start in Week 12. Those whispers when turned into CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reporting that New York had decided to bench Jones in place of DeVito. Meanwhile, Jones would be sent down to the third string, with Drew Lock remaining as QB2.

“After evaluating and watching a lot of tape, that’s the reason we are going with Tommy,” coach Brian Daboll said Monday in a team statement. “Drew Lock will be the backup. This was a necessary move for us, and I’m looking forward to working with Tommy, and he’ll be ready to go against Tampa Bay.”

Nov. 19: Dexter Lawrence publicly disagrees with benching

The day after the news came down of Jones’ benching, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who is arguably the face of the franchise, publicly came out and expressed his confusion with the decision. Lawrence said that his 2019 draft classmate was still “the best quarterback on the team.” 

Nov. 20: Drew Lock confused why he wasn’t named starter

One of the side stories of the Giants’ decision to bench Jones was that they didn’t elevate primary backup Lock. He had been serving as the second quarterback behind Jones throughout the season, with DeVito — the newly named starter — working as the third string. That was a curious decision that left Lock himself puzzled. 

“Again, that’s a question I might still have for myself,” Lock said when asked about the decision to keep him at QB2, via SNY. “It was expressed to me that I was going to be the two [quarterback]. I don’t know, it’s an interesting situation. Not much I can really say about it besides I’m going to be here for him [Jones], and we’re still very good friends, believe it or not. I’m going to be here for him, this team needs to get a win. We start winning, everything gets a little better around here.”

When looking at Lock’s incentives, that could be what prevented him from ascending atop the depth chart. As reported by Spotrac, Lock would receive $250,000 each for 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% of snaps played. He’d get an additional $250,000 if he records a 92.5 passer rating and/or a 65% completion rate. Another $250,000 would come his way if he recorded an 88 passer rating and 15 touchdown passes or 2,000 passing yards. From a team perspective, Lock would get a half-million dollars if he played at least 55% of the snaps and the Giants made the playoffs. 

Nov. 21: Daboll responds to Lawrence’s public comments

After Lawrence went public expressing his confusion regarding the moves off of Jones, Brian Daboll was asked about his star player’s comments and whether or not he believes there’s the risk of losing buy-in within the rest of the locker room.

“Dex and I have a good relationship, and I respect Dex a great deal,” he said. “We were just talking a little while ago, not about that. But again, everybody’s going to have certain opinions. I got a lot of respect for all our players. I think we’re focused, we’ll be focused, and do what we need to do to play our best against Tampa.” 

He added: “I got a lot of confidence in our locker room. We got a close-knit group. Obviously not where we want to be with the record, but I have a lot of confidence in the players and the coaches and the chemistry that we have. We got to have a good week and get ready to play Tampa.”

Nov. 21: Giants play Jones at safety on scout team

Maybe the oddest development in all this came on Thursday when Jones was spotted at practice not taking any reps at quarterback. Instead, the Giants had their former franchise signal-caller playing safety on the scout team during walkthrough drills. The confusing aspect of that move by New York centers around Jones’ injury clause, which would give him $23 million fully guaranteed if he were unable to pass a physical this offseason. If part of the decision was to keep Jones out of harm’s way to avoid paying that, which has been reported, why expose him to injury on the scout team? 

Nov. 21: Jones releases statement

After Thursday’s practice, Jones met with reporters and read a statement, which can essentially be looked at now as his farewell to New York and the Giants organization. 

“The opportunity to play for the New York Giants was truly a dream come true and I am extremely grateful … for the chance to play here,” Jones said. “The Giants are truly a first class organization and I have nothing but genuine respect and appreciation for the people who built it and who help carry on the tradition. I met so many specialty people and created relationships that will truly last a lifetime. Thank you all my teammates, coaches and staff that have done so much for me these past six years. There have been some great times, but of course we all wish there had been more of those.” 

Nov. 22: Giants grant Daniel Jones release request

On Friday, this rapid decline met its floor, with New York announcing it had granted Jones’ request to be released. In a statement released by John Mara, the Giants president said that they hold Jones “in high regard and have great appreciation for him.” 

Jones, who went 24-44-1 as the team’s starter in 69 regular-season starts, will be subject to waivers. Once he clears that (which is likely given his current contract), he’ll be free to sign with any franchise that’ll have him.