Daniel Jones knee injury completely changes 2024 plans for the NY Giants
Will the NY Giants draft a new quarterback in the first round next spring?
Things have reached rock bottom for the NY Giants. In Sunday's 30-6 loss to the Raiders, Daniel Jones went down with a serious-looking knee injury that the team fears could be a torn ACL. Just like that, we may not see Danny Dimes back on the field until next season.
When general manager Joe Schoen invested in Jones, giving him a four-year extension worth $160 million, the hope was that the former No. 6 overall pick would prove to be the QB of the future for the NFC East side. Instead, this new injury has plenty of fans speculating that NY could look to take a new signal-caller early in next spring's NFL Draft. It's hard to argue with that thinking after seeing Jones go down with his injury:
#Giants QB Daniel Jones is feared to have suffered a significant knee injury, potentially a torn ACL based on the initial tests, per me and @MikeGarafolo. He’ll have an MRI to learn the full picture.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 6, 2023
Daniel Jones suffering a season-ending injury will change everything for Joe Schoen
With the Giants now sitting at the bottom of the NFC East at 2-7 and being one of the worst teams in the NFL, they're currently projected to have the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This year's draft class is filled with many talented quarterbacks, meaning Schoen could be in a prime position to land an elite playmaker.
On Saturday night, Schoen was at the epic, 52-42 battle between USC and Washington in Los Angeles. He was able to get a close look at both Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr., two stud signal-callers who are projected first-round picks. Williams has long been the talk of the town as a No. 1 overall candidate. Would Schoen trade up to land him next spring?
In a new mock draft from CBS, reporter Chris Trapasso has Schoen making a trade with the Cardinals for that top pick to take Williams. There's no question that fans would love to see that happen, but is Schoen going to be ready to give up on Jones? With the way his contract is structured, there's an easy out after Year 2.
You had a feeling Jones was, in surprising fashion, playing for his future after he was able to return from his neck injury. With Giants brass fearing the worst, this feels like the knockout blow on his potential to be the answer for this team for the long haul. Instead of adding guys for Jones in next year's draft and free agency, Schoen will likely now look to add pieces to get ready ready for life without him.
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