The New York Giants face a choice familiar to other rudderless NFL teams in recent years as they consider the costs of maintaining the status quo at quarterback.
Giants starter Daniel Jones has struggled this season and the Giants (2-8) suffered their fifth straight loss on Sunday in Munich, Germany. His poor performance against the shaky Carolina Panthers – New York held scoreless in the first half against the league’s worst defense – made for a rough first ten games.
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Now the team must decide whether to end the Jones era, which has led to one playoff victory in the past six years. Giants head coach Brian Daboll is considering benching him — and Jones’ contract could provide a reason beyond his play on the field.
Jones currently has an injury guarantee clause in his contract that, if triggered, will force the Giants to pay him $23 million next year. He is the latest quarterback to experience this type of dance after Russell Wilson (Denver Broncos) experienced it last year. The Raiders also sat out Derek Carr (now with the Saints) two years ago when the playoffs were out of reach to avoid triggering a clause that would have paid him a guaranteed $33 million.
“If you can negotiate an injury guarantee in a contract, that should be a feather in your cap, but in fact it can be used as a weapon against you, and Daniel Jones is an example of that,” said NFL agent Brad Blank in an interview. “If he didn’t have an injury guarantee, they might leave him out.”
No decision has been made yet on Jones’ future, although his lack of first-team quarterback representation during practices Tuesday suggested the team is seriously considering a possible move for backup Drew Lock. Giants senior vice president and general manager Joe Schoen downplayed the practice structure, telling reporters that Jones’ contract language will not factor into whatever decision is made.
“It will be a football decision,” he said on Tuesday. “Every decision we make when we evaluate the squad and what we do in the last seven games will be a football decision.”
New York benched Jones during a 28–3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on October 20. Daboll continued to support Jones after the Week 7 loss despite the temporary demotion, but his tone has since changed. With his own job in jeopardy, the third-year coach sounded non-committal when asked about Jones in the starting role moving forward.
Jones, who has thrown eight touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension last year. There is no guaranteed money after this year, but that would change if he is unable to pass a physical in March, after the 2025 league year begins, due to an injury he suffered this season. It is not uncommon for quarterbacks, usually among the team’s highest-paid players, to have such injury provisions written into their contracts.
“If a guy is planning on making a lot of money, and that’s not going to happen in the future, they’re probably going to let him sit if he gets a March bonus,” says Roc Nation co-head of football and NFL agent John. Thornton said in an interview. “That’s what injury guarantees are for, to put in a trigger so that if they have no plans to bring him back, the player and the team can get out of it.”
The Giants will absorb $22 million in dead money if they cut him this offseason, an outcome that’s looking increasingly likely, especially with a star-studded 2025 QB draft class.
New York has a bye week and will try to break its losing streak at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 24.
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