There was no energy on the field at the start of the Giants’ practice on Wednesday.
“A little dead” is how one player described it afterwards.
The humiliating scene of Daniel Jones taking snaps as the No. 4 quarterback behind new signing Tim Boyle had everything to do with that. And it was just as much about the questions that Jones’ shutdown invited for the Giants’ players.
“I think ultimately anybody can respect and get behind any decision that’s made [when] you ask yourself the question, ‘Does this help us win? Yes or no?’ And the answer is yes,” veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton told the Daily News, when asked if the Giants’ front office could handle its tough decisions differently. “You can get behind any decision that is made as long as that answer is yes.
“When that answer starts being ‘I don’t know’ or ‘no,’ it doesn’t matter how you did or what you did, because at the end of the day our job is to win,” he added. “Nobody’s going out there risking their body to lose.”
Unfortunately, Slayton said, he has seen decisions made with ulterior or unclear motives here before.
“Being a part of three regimes now, so to speak — and I’m not necessarily referring to now — I just know in the past there’s been decisions made where the answer to that question has been ‘no’ or very blurry,” Slayton said. “And that’s when it starts to be like, ‘Well, what are we doing here?’ Because we’re all wasting our time if we’re not trying to win.”
Slayton supports new starter Tommy DeVito. All of the Giants’ players are trying not to let their frustrations with the organization get in the way of supporting their friend and teammate.
Even Jones waited to hold his press conference until Thursday, seemingly to avoid overshadowing DeVito’s day. But trust has eroded in GM Joe Schoen’s operation.
Dexter Lawrence’s Tuesday criticism of the Jones benching that he remains their best quarterback was reflective of how the team feels.
Jones may have flaws and not played up to his $160 million contract, but he didn’t sign himself to that contract, and the Giants have lost for a lot of reasons besides him.
The players are just as much behind Jones as a quarterback who can lead them to victory as ever.
“People don’t know what we know,” Slayton said. “What we know is, what I know, what I can tell you for a fact: we have at least two more wins if we just do our job and be a better supporting cast. At least two. So that has nothing to do with whoever we had at quarterback.
“If we just make a couple catches here and there, we have at least two more wins,” he continued. “So when you sit in our seats and you have the perspective we have, it’s impossible to sit up here and say it’s one man. There’s a reason why we’re in the situation we’re in.”
Sources say Brian Daboll and the coaching staff, meanwhile, are ratcheting up pressure and frustration with the defense for giving up big plays — as if Daboll’s league-worst 15.6 points per game offense that just shut down its starting quarterback isn’t the root of the problem.
That blame game and discord sounds familiar to 2023, doesn’t it?
All the players can do is concentrate on doing their best individually because the second half of this season essentially is a job audition for all of them.
It will be difficult to stay engaged, however. As one player noted, seven remaining games is like having “a whole college season” left to play out.
There was discomfort everywhere in the Giants’ locker room.
A crushed Drew Lock admitted he was “upset” about not getting the start, even though he diplomatically said he would still support DeVito.
When asked if he felt like he was misled when he signed here in the spring, Lock implied that could be possible, but he won’t let himself go there — at least not now.
“No,” Lock said. “Obviously, the situation can be looked at as that. Maybe I don’t want to think that or feel that. So that’s where I’ll stand and just believe that when my time comes, it was supposed to come. And I’ll be ready for it.”
He couldn’t answer why DeVito wasn’t the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart the entire season if he’s starting ahead of Lock now, because there is no good answer.
“That’s a question I may still have for myself,” Lock said.
Lock did clarify that Schoen and Daboll informed Jones, Lock and DeVito of their decision on Monday at the Giants’ facility, individually, in that order.
“DJ was first, I was second and Tommy was third,” Lock said. “Those are funny stories we’ll write a book on.”
Daboll resorted to his stock answers about respecting players at his Wednesday press conference to try to manage the crisis. He said of Lawrence’s criticism that “everybody’s not going to agree with the decision, and I understand that.”
It’s not just about a disagreement over Jones’ benching, however. It’s about Schoen and Daboll constantly letting good and important players go.
Saquon Barkley’s absence is felt in the locker room, for example, not just on the field where he has launched an MVP campaign with the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
“Specifically with Say, he was somebody who was well-liked, well-respected, obviously a very talented football player, and his role here I think was — obviously he was a really good football player — but I think it was bigger than football,” Slayton said. “So you didn’t want to see someone like that leave — or whatever word you want to call it, technically he didn’t leave, you know what I’m trying to say.
“But at the same time, we don’t get paid to build the roster,” the wideout added. “So they let him walk for some reason. Hopefully things turn around for us, or whatever vision they had comes to fruition.”
The question was put to Slayton directly: what does he think of how the Giants’ front office treats players?
“I mean, it’s one of them things where I think everybody has a job, and being in the front office of an NFL team, there’s a lot of tough decisions that have to be made. And obviously there’s a way to go about things,” Slayton said. “You could probably argue any team has had decisions made with certain players, certain front offices that were right or wrong either way. And I don’t think ours is any different than anybody else’s, you know?
“So I think,” he said with a smirk, “that’s probably the best way I could word it.”
THIBODEAUX RETURNS
Edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux (wrist) was limited in Wednesday’s return to practice, and Daboll said he’s “optimistic” he’ll play Sunday after missing the past five games on injured reserve due to surgery.
Seven other Giants players were limited with injuries: Lawrence (knee), S Tyler Nubin (back), guard Greg Van Roten (abdomen), TE Theo Johnson (back), LB Darius Muasau (hamstring), LB Matt Adams (knee) and WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles).
Slayton cleared the concussion protocol and was a full participant on Wednesday.
Three of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ injured top players all have a chance to play: corner Jamel Dean (hamstring) was a full participant, and wideout Mike Evans (hamstring) and tackle Tristan Wirfs (knee/foot) were limited. Wirfs reportedly will be a game-decision.
