Bo Crouch 8-26-24
Daniel Jones presents an interesting problem heading into the 2024 season as he's slated to hit the salary cap for 47.8 million dollars but may not be the best quarterback in the room. Last season was underwhelming after his 2022 season where the Giants found their way to the playoffs, a season that Jones land his current contract. After a lot of movement on the roster last season and the notable exit of Saquon Barkley there have been a lot questions as New York gears up to not only take on their division but build hope within the fanbase that this team can be a winner. With the struggles and the amazing amount of sacks Jones had to endure his injuries came at no surprise to not only those who study the game but also the casual fan too note at the rate Jones was getting hit. That being said he was in the first year of his new contract and neither backup that was on the roster posed a real threat to Jones as the starter once he was physically able to return. After what the Giants fan base is hoping was an outlier of a bad season with a multitude of unfortunate events coming together there was an optimism that he would return to the previous form that put them in the playoffs and spurred the nickname for him in Danny Dimes.
The Giants make a trade that raised some eyebrows around the league taking the Seattle Seahawks backup and former Bronco Drew Lock who had performed well in his limited opportunities behind Geno Smith. It was a smart move to upgrade their backup position knowing Seattle didn't have the cap space to keep him. Heading through OTAs and camp most of the reps were taken by Lock with Jones still recovering from his season ending ACL tear in week 9. Daboll stated that there is no controversy in New York and that Lock would be benched once Jones is ready to play.
Preseason hopes were met by a struggling Jones who failed to post a single touchdown and although the reps were limited, he managed only a 45.4 passer rating and a pair of interceptions in his 18 attempts. You could make the argument that it is too small of a sample size to say he has to worry about his job, and you would be right in that assessment. Unfortunately, he didn't look particularly sharp in the joint practices against the Lions or Jets. He did show some moxie jumping in on a scuffle during the Lions joint practice that gave Coach Daboll a laugh during his meeting with the press where he and various players praised his competitiveness and liked that he wanted to stick up for his guys but also that he should take a step back in that situation to ensure he stays upright and healthy.
Drew Lock on the other hand looked fairly efficient during practices and camp but suffered a hip injury in the first preseason game that has left him sidelined heading into week one of the regular season. The question then becomes should Jones struggle early does the fan base start to call for Lock after seeing his evolution in Seattle, the solid play in practices and keeping in mind that he's only a few years removed from being a second-round pick for the Broncos. Jones will need to not only come out firing on all cylinders to keep Lock slated behind him as QB2 but also to ensure the Giants don't exercise the out in his contract ahead of the 2025 season. The way this team performed during the preseason leaves us with more questions than answers. With the regular season kicking off in just under two weeks all eyes will be trained on the if the Giants have done enough for Jones to be successful or did they just overachieve in '22? The stage is set, the cameras are rolling and the answers to all these questions are about to play out in real time.
Commenti