The first day of the rest of Daniel Jones’ dwindling time with the Giants arrived Wednesday, with Jones in the building, in the meetings, on the practice field (although not doing very much) and not at all part of the game plan for the next game, relegated to a non-participant role for the remainder of the season.
Jones is now the No. 3 — or maybe even No. 4 — quarterback, behind newly installed starter Tommy DeVito, backup Drew Lock and practice squad addition Tim Boyle. Sometimes, when the starter gets benched and he has an injury guarantee written into his contract, a player will be told or at least given permission to stay away from the team. That, for now, has not happened with Jones and the Giants.
“Look, Daniel’s been a pro, he’s been a good teammate for us,’’ head coach Brian Daboll said. “This is the role that he has right now for us and I’m glad he’s part of our team.’’
Jones on the cloudy afternoon was on the practice field as the Giants (2-8) began preparation for Sunday’s game with the Buccaneers (4-6) at MetLife Stadium.
He did not do much in the early periods open to the media to break a sweat. Jones watched as the three other quarterbacks went through some individual drills, then he did toss the ball around with the quarterbacks and tossed a few passes to receivers who were standing in place.
The way this is going to work is that DeVito gets all the first-team reps, Lock runs the scout team as the backup — as he had done throughout this season — and Jones and Boyle participate in individual drills and throw to receivers running routes.
This is more than a benching for Jones, as the $23 million injury guarantee for 2025 if he suffers a major injury necessitates that the Giants make sure he does not get hurt. So, no real practice for Jones, who might as well be protected with bubble wrap whenever he is in the team facility.
“Not the easiest situation, I understand that,’’ Daboll said.
Jones, 27, was informed of his permanent demotion Monday. Daboll said Jones attended meetings on Wednesday with a “good attitude.’’
This is an adjustment for all concerned. Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, a 2019 draft classmate of Jones, said Tuesday he believes Jones is the best quarterback on the team and he did not understand why this move was made. Lawrence and Jones are close friends.
“I got a lot of respect for Dex,’’ Daboll said. “Dex has been a teammate of Daniel for a while, pretty good relationship there. Look, everybody’s not going to agree with the decision and I understand that.’’
As for how this decision will play out in the locker room, Daboll sounded confident it will be business as usual, despite the change at quarterback and the business motives behind making sure Jones does not again take the field.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in our locker room,’’ Daboll said. “We got a close-knit group. Obviously not where we want to be with the record, but I have a lot of confidence in the players and the coaches and the chemistry that we have.’’
There is certainly a chance the Giants opt to make Jones inactive on game days and either designate Boyle as the emergency No. 3 quarterback or go with only two quarterbacks — DeVito and Lock.
If Jones does not step on the field or take another snap for the Giants — that is certainly the expectation — his final numbers are depressingly and alarmingly lacking. The Giants had one winning season in the six years he was the starter. His career record is 22-44-1 and the trending has been down, down, down ever since the 2022 season, when Jones was a solid, unspectacular and successful game manager for a team that went 9-7-1 and won a playoff game.
Since signing a four-year, $160 million contract in March of 2023, Jones is 3-13, limited to only six games that season because of a neck injury and then a torn ACL.
Jones closes out his Giants chapter completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 14,582 yards, 70 touchdown passes and 47 interceptions. He also ran for 15 touchdowns and was sacked 208 times. His career passer rating is 84.3.
His final game did not even take place in the United States, as in Week 10 he tossed two red zone interceptions in a desultory 20-17 overtime loss to the Panthers in Munich.