Following Sunday’s loss to the Raiders, the New York Giants fell to 2-7 and their season has officially ended. With that, this likely means the end of Daniel Jones' tenure as QB1 in New York. It's a shame it had to end with him tearing his ACL and missing the rest of the year.
No matter how bad someone is playing, they don't deserve to have that happen. Injuries aside, the year was not going great for Jones. After a 2022 season filled with so much promise, it seems that season was the exception rather than the norm.
Now, the Giants need to get a quarterback in the 2024 offseason because Jones probably won't even be ready to go by the start of next year. And even if he was, depending upon how he finished 2023, New York already may have had their eye on a top prospect as they kept losing.
There's also an absolutely loaded free agent QB class, but there are some prospects and veterans Big Blue must avoid.
5 Daniel Jones replacements the NY Giants must avoid this offseason
JJ McCarthy
This has nothing to do with the recent Michigan scandals, but JJ McCarthy won't be the answer the Giants will be looking for come the offseason.
In three years at Michigan, McCarthy has admittedly put up some impressive numbers. He even led his team to the College Football Playoff in 2022 and came just short of a national championship appearance. However, minus Ohio State, the Big Ten isn't exactly a good litmus test for NFL readiness. It's a pretty weak conference with only three consistently good teams. Given where the Giants are projected to draft, McCarthy would be considered an insane reach over guys like Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., or even Caleb Williams, should Joe Schoen trade up.
McCarthy is more comparable to Daniel Jones. He may get a shot somewhere for a few years, but ultimately might be a career backup. The Giants have already tried this experiment, they don't need to do it again.
Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels is an awesome college quarterback. If not for a terrible defense and three losses, Daniels would be toward the front of the Heisman race. Unfortunately, his ceiling is probably starring at the collegiate level.
Daniels has spent five years in college and has improved every year with arguably his best coming during his swan song. He'll get to enjoy the fruits of his labor being a late-first/early-second round pick. But he's likely to struggle in the NFL and won't be able to prove himself to be "the guy" for a franchise. Like McCarthy, Daniels would without a doubt be considered a reach if the Giants were to take him with one of their top picks.
They would have to trade down quite a bit to justify a Daniels pick, but given the top of this QB class and where the Giants are as a franchise, Schoen may be fired on the spot if he traded down. Risks aren't always worth it and Daniels would be one this team can't afford. The front office, players and fans wouldn't want this franchise set back another half-decade. The popular picks are usually popular for a reason.
Ryan Tannehill
Ryan Tannehill had a couple of quality years in Miami, faded out and had somewhat of a resurgence in Tennessee. He even led the Titans to a No. 1 seed in the 2021 season. The few seasons after that haven't been great, though.
His age has shown quickly, and with Tannehill being a free agent after the 2023 season, and with the emergence of Will Levis, it's safe to say Tannehill's time in Tennessee is done. The veteran could find life again as a starter, but only on a team that has a complete roster and in a win-now mode.
The Giants are not a team that should want Tannehill's services, unless it's as a backup/mentor role for whoever they draft. The rest of this roster is not fit to start a guy on the back end of his career.
Jimmy Garoppolo
There's growing speculation the Las Vegas Raiders and Jimmy Garoppolo will part ways this offseason. If this were to happen and Garoppolo is looking for a new home, New York shouldn't be the place. People liked to use this crack on Tom Brady a lot, which clearly wasn't true, but Garoppolo is the embodiment of a system quarterback.
He succeeded under Bill Belichick (arguably the greatest coach of all time) and went to a Super Bowl with Kyle Shanahan (offensive guru). Then again, it's not fair to put all the struggles this season solely on his shoulders. The Raiders were a disaster the first eight weeks and that's thanks to noted terrible head coach Josh McDaniels.
The real blemish on Jimmy G's record is during the 49ers run to a Super Bowl appearance, Shanahan didn't have Garoppolo throw the ball. That's a pretty tough look if you want to be considered the face of the franchise. Like Tannehill, Garoppolo needs to have the weapons around him if you want him to succeed, and frankly the Giants don't have that. Outside of Saquon Barkley, there are question marks at every offensive skill position. Garoppolo to the Giants would solve nothing for either party.
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins had what looked like it was going to be a career year cut short by an Achilles tear. The Vikings were getting hot, and Cousins, in a contract year, was looking like a guy who would have a good market in free agency. It's a shame for someone whose public perception changed after the "Quarterback" show on Netflix aired, too.
Despite the injury, this is someone the Giants should want no part of. Cousins has been in the league long enough for the fans to know what his ceiling is. He can get you in the playoffs and he may even win a a playoff game, but he isn't someone who is going to put you over the top.
The Giants should be looking to take a chance on the next generation rather than hoping "this is the year" with a guy like Cousins. The good thing is the Giants' brass seem to know this. Cousins will find a new home somewhere, and that'll be that.