Now that the New York Giants are without quarterback Daniel Jones for the rest of the season, the franchise has no choice but to look ahead. With their current draft position and holding the no. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Giants need to start thinking about possibly moving Jones for even a mild return at this point.
If New York can wind up with Caleb Williams or Drake Maye, they need to make that happen. Thus, Jones' future with the Giants would look grim. Could they try and trade him?
Jones' contract is not as bad as it might seem at first glance. Any team that traded for him could get out of it in 2025 and save roughly $19 million in doing so. Therefore, he might be worth the gamble.
Which teams might make sense for the former second-round pick? Let's look at five franchises that could give the Giants a call.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs are a team that will also need an answer at quarterback next season. Baker Mayfield has played fine in 2023, and he isn't necessarily the reason why Tampa Bay's season had fallen off after a good start. But, Mayfield is of course on a one-year deal and the Bucs aren't tied to him whatsoever.
Mayfield doesn't give the Bucs much of anything beyond a pocket passer, as we'll discuss with other prospective trade destinations for Jones. He isn't much of a runner, and the Bucs' run game has been abysmal in 2023. Rachaad White has been far more effective as a pass catcher than a runner, and adding a mobile quarterback like Jones could be a step toward fixing that problem as a whole.
If the Bucs were able to re-sign Mike Evans, Jones would have a strong duo between he and Chris Godwin, along with White and tight end Cade Otton. It's a whole lot better than the current group he's got in New York, that's for sure.
2. New England Patriots
It sure is amusing to watch the New England Patriots' season go up in flames this year. Of course, Giants fans have a funny relationship with New England as the team which ended two Super Bowl runs for the Patriots.
Bill Belichick is anything but safe, even after he signed an extension this past offseason. New England is 2-8 and headed for a top-5 draft pick, which might result in the team taking a shot on a first-round quarterback. Or, they could make a trade for Jones and give Mac Jones some competition before ultimately moving on from the former Alabama quarterback.
New England's offense has lacked an identity since Tom Brady left and they have not had an ideal offensive coordinator in place in recent years. The Patriots have to be looking at retooling or rebuilding the entire offense after a season like this. They are currently seventh-worst in offensive yards per game and second-worst in points per game.
At the very least, Jones gives them a capable starting quarterback who can give them a boost in the ground game, too.
3. Green Bay Packers
This is a bit of a wildcard scenario, but the Green Bay Packers do not have their quarterback situation under control. Yes, they decided to extend Jordan Love this past offseason. But, it was just a one-year extension and gave them the ability to get out in 2024 with only a $12 million loss. That's nothing in comparison to other quarterback contracts around the league.
Green Bay might also be in the hunt for a new head coach if this season continues down the road it's headed. Right now, the Packers own the no. 6 pick in the draft if the season ended today. Matt LaFleur is anything but safe, and the same can be said for Love.
If the Packers opt to blow it up and start over, Jones could be an intriguing option for them to try out for at least 2024. They might even end up reinventing their back field and also search for a true WR1 in that process. Things could get much worse for Green Bay before they get better, but at least Jones gives them some experience and a dual-threat guy under center.
4. Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons have been a frustrating team to watch this season, even for non-Falcons fans. If you play fantasy football and own Bijan Robinson or Kyle Pitts, you can attest to the problems, here. The Falcons have been one of the better rushing teams in the league over the last couple of seasons, but they haven't given a full workload to Robinson, consistently.
Desmond Ridder offers a bit of a dual-threat aspect to him, which works well for a team wanting to stay committed to the run. But, having Jones under center could bring more of a threat as one of the underrated runners at his position.
Right now, Atlanta is 4-6 and owns the no. 9 pick in the draft. So, they are just a few picks back of having a shot at Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. In all likelihood, Atlanta won't have a chance at either, come April. Thus, they'll have to look at other first-round options or at replacing Ridder and Taylor Heinicke via trade and/or free agency.
The options aren't great in free agency, thus a trade for Jones could make some sense while Atlanta uses that first-round pick on another position of need.
5. Minnesota Vikings
Finally, one of the more logical destinations for Jones could be the Minnesota Vikings. Next offseason is going to be an interesting one for Minnesota, who lost Kirk Cousins for the season a few weeks ago. The team then traded for Joshua Dobbs, and Dobbs has been more than enough for Minnesota to win with in the mean time.
The problem comes when both Cousins and Dobbs hit free agency after this season. Do the Vikings bring either of them back? Cousins seems to be open to returning to Minnesota, but the Vikings could opt to go younger, either via the draft or by trade. Currently, the Vikings own the 21st pick in the draft. So, they'd be looking at someone like Bo Nix out of Oregon or Michael Penix Jr. from Washington, but wouldn't stand a chance at a top-2 quarterback in this class.
Minnesota has struggled running the football this season behind Alexander Mattison and company, and having a mobile quarterback like Dobbs has definitely added a dimension. Jones could give them a similar lift on the ground. Jones has also never had a wide receiving core like Minnesota's with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Not to mention, he'd have one of the best tight ends in the game with T.J. Hockenson.