The New York Giants made the decision to bench starting quarterback Daniel Jones earlier this week amid a brutal year where the offense has struggled to find any sort of consistent rhythm. Now, in a shocking turn of events, the team announced on Friday afternoon that the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft asked for and was granted his immediate release.
In a statement, which you can read in its entirely below, Giants president John Mara praised Jones for his handling of his benching, and made clear that parting ways was a mutual decision.
Daniel came to see me this morning and asked if we would release him. We mutually agreed that would be the best for him and for the team.
Daniel has been a great representative of our organization, first class in every way. His handling of this situation yesterday exemplifies just that. We are all disappointed in how things have worked out.
We hold Daniel in high regard and have a great appreciation for him. We wish him nothing but the best in the future.
Jones has had a tumultuous tenure in New York, as the decision to draft him that high was largely based on his perceived upside. While he’s certainly flashed the ability to be an accurate passer and a threat with his legs — so much so that the team gave him a $160 million extension in 2023 that was cited as a reason why they could not bring back Saquon Barkley in free agency this offseason — he’s never been able to become the face of the franchise the team envisioned.
The Giants sit at 2-8 on the season, and are playing host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon. The team has already announced that Tommy DeVito will start under center. To add some intrigue to this, the Giants face the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving this year. Dallas has had its own QB struggles this season as Dak Prescott is out for the year with the injury, and if they wanted, it would make sense to bring in Jones and try to get him up to speed ahead of Thursday.