Daniel Jones’ fall from grace in New York has officially entered the Twilight Zone. At Wednesday’s practice, the $40 million man was seen wearing a red scout-team jersey and lining up at safety during an offensive install period. Yes, the same Daniel Jones, who was supposed to be the franchise savior, is now playing defense against the team’s offense - with a crew that included practice squad offensive linemen and even some coaches filling in as scout defenders.
Joining Jones on this makeshift defense were tight ends coach Tim Kelly, assistant quarterbacks coach Christian Jones, and offensive assistant Christian Daboll. It’s unclear what the Giants are trying to accomplish here, but Jones’ career arc somehow feels even more surreal by the day.
Let’s be honest: this is peak Giants dysfunction. Daniel Jones signed a $160 million contract this offseason, averaging $40 million per year, yet he’s spending his practice reps pretending to be a defensive back.
Maybe the Giants are hoping he’ll teach his teammates something from the other side of the ball - after all, he’s thrown enough interceptions to opposing defensive backs that he might have some insights to share.
Giants laughably make Daniel Jones the league's highest-paid safety (at practice)
It’s one thing to bench Jones in favor of Tommy DeVito, the undrafted fan-favorite, but sticking him in at scout team safety feels more like a bad sitcom subplot than an actual football decision. If the goal is to prepare DeVito for Sunday, there are probably better ways to use Jones’ time.
Unless, of course, the Giants are trying to see if their $40 million QB has a future as their nickelback.
This absurd scene is just the latest chapter in the Giants’ ongoing quarterback drama. Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have already taken heat for their decision to demote Jones, promote DeVito, and keep Drew Lock inexplicably sidelined. Now, this? It’s hard to imagine the locker room, or anyone else, finding much to respect in this approach.
Daniel Jones spent part of the open portion of practice wearing a red scout team jersey lined up at safety during an offensive install period. He was joined on the scout team D by some practice squad OL, TE coach Tim Kelly, assistant QB coach Christian Jones and offensive…
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) November 21, 2024
Dexter Lawrence has already gone public with his support of Jones, calling him “the best quarterback on the team.” Drew Lock recently expressed his own confusion over the pecking order. At this point, the Giants aren’t just losing games—they’re losing credibility.
It’s no secret the Giants are tanking. They’re protecting their draft position and making sure Jones doesn’t trigger his $23 million injury guarantee for 2025. But there’s tanking with a plan, and then there’s whatever this is. Turning your franchise quarterback into a glorified tackling dummy doesn’t help anyone, least of all Jones.
If this is the Giants’ idea of “developing talent” or “evaluating options,” it’s a stretch.
What it actually looks like is a franchise running out of ideas and opting for chaos instead. So while Daniel Jones might not be the answer under center, at least he’s got a front-row seat for the Giants’ greatest opponent: themselves. And hey, maybe he’ll make some plays at safety. If nothing else, he should know where the offense is trying to go he’s been helping defenses figure that out all season.