New Drew Lock QB1 buzz further shows the Giants made a $160 million mistake

When you look at the NY Giants quarterback depth chart, most would think that after the 2024 NFL Draft concluded, Daniel Jones would be considered the clear cut starter heading into the 2024 season. it's going to be the Danny Dimes show, right?

That might not be the case just yet. This is what we know. The Giants tried to trade their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the No. 6 overall pick, and their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for the New England Patriots No. 3 three overall pick to take Drake Maye. However, the Patriots didn’t want the Giants offer and kept the pick for themselves so they could take Maye. This is all coming just one year after the Giants gave Jones a four-year, $160 million contract in free agency.

Ever since the early stages of a disastrous 2023 season that saw Jones play poorly before he suffered his first significant injury to his neck, followed by his torn ACL, people all around have looked at Jones as an overpaid and underperforming player. Now, the shift and focus has gone from a potential rookie unseating Jones to a veteran in Drew Lock, who signed a one-year deal with the Giants. There are now those around the league who think he could push for the starting job in '24.

Drew Lock is expected to push for the NY Giants starting QB job

When there is smoke, there is fire. Even though the Giants did not select a quarterback in the draft, it hasn’t made some people think that Jones is the clear-cut QB1 for the organization moving forward. Sure, he has a large contract, and likely, one the Giants would like a redo on. Many Giants fans feel like Jones' contract cost them Saquon Barkley, as it was the Giants picking Jones over Barkley. Many thought Barkley should have been the one to get paid over Jones. How Saquon does over the next few years will really determine if that was the right choice or not.

While Saquon is long gone, Jones is still with the Giants, causing chaos and controversy amongst the entire fan base. Granted, it might not be any fault of his own, but Jones might be the player that causes the biggest split and divide amongst the fanbase, maybe even more so than Odell Beckham Jr. ever did.

The naysayers against Jones feel like his contract was a mistake. Maybe not the actual deal itself, but the length and amount. They felt that it would come back to hurt the Giants once his deal increased on the salary cap and took up a more massive chunk of it, which will be the case in 2024 when Jones’ number is $47.8 million. What’s worse is Jones might not be even ready for Week 1 in September since he is still on the mend from ACL surgery and rehab. So in that case, Lock, who makes all of $5 million, could be the Week 1 starter and potentially, even longer.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen once said that in hindsight, he wished he had exercised Jones’ fifth-year option on his rookie contract, a move that could have saved the Giants a lot of money and had changed a lot of scenarios.

Had Schoen exercised the fifth-year option, the Giants wouldn't be locked into a four-year, $160 million deal right now with Jones. Luckily for Schoen, Jones will be out of guaranteed money after the 2024 season, opening the door for the Giants to part ways with him. However, there's still one more year of Jones in town unless something shocking happens.

As things stand, the Giants still have an injury-prone quarterback who may not be ready for the start of the 2024 season and the speculation continues to rise on whether Jones is actually the right player for the team moving forward. For 2024, it could be Lock who is QB1, but he hasn’t even taken a single snap yet with the team. And as long as Jones occupies a roster spot, these will be the continued questions hovering over the team.

You really have to wonder if everything that has followed since Jones signed that deal was really worth it for the Giants or not. Only time will tell. For the time being, it’s been a $160 million mistake that they can escape from once the 2024 season is done.