With NY Giants general manager Joe Schoen declining QB Daniel Jones’ fifth year option, the young QB is set to become a free agent after this season. The reasoning for the turning down the option? Jones was to make around $22 million next season, far too much given his production thus far in his career.
However, with a newly revamped offensive line and coaching staff, it is likely that we see Jones finally break out of his shell and become the franchise QB we think he can be. Despite this, the question still needs to be asked: What if Jones doesn’t pan out this season?
While we believe he will most likely play strong and earn himself a nice extension, there is still a looming fear that things could go wrong, and if they do, the NY Giants front office needs to have a plan of action. Here’s a look at what can be done.
NY Giants draft Daniel Jones’ replacement
After the declining Jones’ fifth year option, it is most likely that if he does not play well this season, he will not be returning next year and he’ll have to look for a new place to call home. This opens the door for the team to look for a quarterback of the future via the 2023 NFL Draft.
In terms of QBs in next year’s draft class, there are some names that could prove to be potential franchise players. As of right now, the consensus top two QBs of the 2023 NFL Draft are C.J Stroud of Ohio State and Bryce Young of Alabama. These two players have the best chances of becoming franchise QBs out of the entire draft.
However, there is a very good chance that both of these QBs will no longer be available after the top 5 picks in the draft. Meaning the NY Giants will likely have to trade up, or simply have another bad season in order to draft one of the two. There’s also the possibility they land Kentucky signal-caller Will Levis. He’s a player to keep an eye on.
With all of that said, if Jones doesn’t play well this season, that probably means it’ll be another year to forget for New York. With this, it means the possibility of drafting one of these pristine QBs a lot higher. It will all come down to how the Giants end up playing in 2022, but there’s a ton of pressure on Jones to step up.
Could the NY Giants sign a new QB?
According to OverTheCap.com, the Giants are set to have around $54 million in cap space next season. With this, it means that they could potentially sign a QB to either hold the position down for a year or two, or even a possible QB for the future. While looking at the potential 2023 QB free agent class, it is likely the Giants would sign someone to hold the spot down as opposed to a cornerstone QB. The most notable names of the 2023 FA class are Baker Mayfield, Jimmy Garoppolo and Teddy Bridgewater.
Due to each of these QBs current situations, it is likely that they will remain free agents and not receive an extension. This opens the door for a potential signing if Jones does not work out. From our chair, we would prefer if the NY Giants were to draft a QB depending on where their pick lands as opposed to signing a free agent. The only free agent who we believe is close to potentially playing better than Jones is Mayfield, but he still has a TON of issues.
Regardless of what happens, we wish nothing but the best for Jones. We truly believe he has all of the tools it takes to be a great QB in this league. It is very unfortunate that he has had the misfortune of playing under Dave Gettleman for the majority of his young career. Gettleman did more harm than good in the development of Jones. For not only Jones’ sake, but the sake of the NY Giants franchise, we truly hope that Jones finally breaks out and shows why he was worth taking No. 6 overall. If he doesn’t, though, the Giants will surely be ready to move on.