Troubling NFL rumors on reputation of Daniel Jones with New York Giants players, coaches

When the New York Giants first released quarterback Daniel Jones, parting with the player who became one of the highest-paid players in franchise history, NFL rumors swirled with numerous teams interested in the former first-round pick. Days later, it appears the Giants are starting to leak their own information regarding their former quarterback.

Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, was benched following the Nov. 10 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Germany. Following his benching, New York demoted him to fourth-string quarterback and used him as a safety on the scout team for a Giants defense during a Thursday practice. One day later, he was released by the team.

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• Daniel Jones stats (ESPN): 2,070 passing yards, 6.1 ypa, 8-7 TD-INT, 63.3% completion rate, 29 sacks taken, 49.4 QB rating, 46.2 ESPN QBR

New York created $19.4 million of cap space in 2025 by making the move and it also ensured the team wasn’t on the hook for his guaranteed money kicking in if he suffered an injury while with the club. However, plenty around the league were critical of the Giants for how they treated Jones.

All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was among those to come to Jones’s defense publicly. Similarly, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers seemingly bashed head coach Brian Daboll and said Jones and the Giants’ quarterbacks weren’t the problem. However, a different story is being told behind the scenes.

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According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, there was “quite a bit of frustration with Jones” inside the Giants organization from both players and the coaching staff. Many inside the building grew tired of Jones’s poor decision-making, especially with his hesitation to make certain throws and his high rate of off-target passes to receivers.

• Daniel Jones career stats: 14,582 passing yards, 6.5 ypa, 70-47 TD-INT, 64.1% completion rate, 208 sacks taken, 84.3 QB rating

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It paints a slightly different picture of both the decision to bench Jones followed by the move to demote him to fourth-string quarterback before releasing him. However, the points made by Nabers and Lawrence still hold credibility as the Giants’ coaching staff and front office are part of the reason Jones was in this situation.

One thing that’s become increasingly evident, Jones likely won’t be the last key figure in the Giants franchise to be shown the door. Daboll is increasingly likely to be fired after the regular season, while general manager Joe Schoen’s hot seat is getting hotter with Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney on track to earn All-Pro selections with their new teams.