NY Giants trading for former Pro Bowl QB isn't as wild as you might think

The struggles of Daniel Jones as the starting quarterback for the NY GIants have been well documented, especially with his poor record in primetime games, which is now at 1-14 after the loss on Sunday Night Football to the Cincinnati Bengals.

So, what is the plan for the Giants moving forward at quarterback, as they can release Jones following the 2024 season for a $22 million dead cap hit and save $19 million in salary cap space. The most obvious move would be to look at drafting a quarterback in April during the 2025 NFL Draft. However, what if the Giants don't like any of the quarterbacks in the draft or aren't in a spot to take a quarterback and need another option?

Giants fans on social media have made a suggestion for an alternative option for Jones at quarterback; making a trade for Los Angeles Rams veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. Is this something Joe Schoen and Co. would consider?

Once the idea was out there, it became a debate on social media for whether or not it was a good idea for the Giants to trade for Stafford, as the anti-Stafford crowd seems to want the Giants to draft someone else. The others are still supporters of Jones and generally don’t think any other quarterback can replace Danny Dimes.

In this case, Stafford, who is a former Super Bowl winner, would be an instant upgrade over Jones and if the Giants want to go with the short-term case, Stafford would be a way to go. Some thought Stafford would be an option to trade for at next month’s trade deadline, but with Stafford’s contract to go along with Jones’ current deal, it would be nearly impossible to make it work. The only way Stafford going to the Giants would happen next month would be to swap Stafford for Jones, but making that swap now midseason doesn't make sense and it won't happen.

The Rams are likely headed to the top of the draft in April and with Stafford getting towards the end of his contract and possibly his career, trading him to a team like the Giants makes sense, as they could use him in their current offense that has struggled and a lot of the struggles are due to the quarterback play.

With two years left of his $160 million contract following the 2024 season, plus his age, it’s hard to fathom the Rams trying to ask for a first or second-round pick in exchange for him. Back when the Rams initially acquired Stafford from the Detroit Lions in January of 2021, Stafford was still just 33 years old and hadn't signed his latest extension yet. So, with Stafford now three years older and making about $13 million more per season, a third-round pick going back to the Rams might be more reasonable for both teams to pull off this deal.

There of course is still a lot of season left to play in 2024 and a lot can happen between now and January for both teams. The Rams could always make another playoff run with Stafford. The Giants could lose a lot more games and head towards the top of the draft board in April.

With that said, in the Giants case, if they don’t head towards the top of the draft board, a trade for Stafford to head into the 2025 season would give the Giants options for the present and then allow them to figure out the quarterback of the future situation later on.