A franchise-changing talent like Jayden Daniels is the potential prize.
The silver lining for football’s worst teams is an opportunity to get first crack at college football’s best in the NFL Draft, as the Washington Commanders did at No. 2 overall last spring.
The Giants could position themselves to select a top two quarterback on the 2025 board, too, if they land a high enough pick. But if they don’t finish in the league’s bottom two or three, that could leave them in no man’s land once again.
And that is not where they want to be when selecting their QB of the future.
Look no further than last April’s draft, when GM Joe Schoen passed on his second tier of quarterbacks like J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix at No. 6 overall once the top three were off the board.
So why is this relevant here in Week 9 as first-place Washington (6-2) visits the last-place Giants (2-6) for a rematch?
Because the Giants feel like they’re on the verge of benching Daniel Jones for good due to a second straight lost season and the $23 million injury guarantee in his contract for 2025.
And since they’re planning on doing it anyway, it feels like they could end up doing it right away — as in the next few weeks — to turn the page early to 2025 and beyond.
Sunday, therefore, conceivably could be Jones’ final Giants start at MetLife Stadium.
Think about it: A loss to Washington would drop the Giants to 2-7 overall and 0-4 in the NFC East.
They’d have a trip to Germany against the Carolina Panthers, a bye week and a Schoen press conference prior to their next home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 24.
Jones has no guaranteed money on his salary for next season, so the Giants could trade him away in the offseason with a manageable dead cap penalty if he stays healthy.
But if Jones sustains an injury in a game or on Giants property that prevents him from passing his physical next March, $23 million of his salary becomes fully guaranteed and goes on the Giants’ books.
It would be ridiculous to incur that penalty while playing Jones late in this season for a two-win team when the GM and coach already have designs to move off him.
Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have to be careful, of course, that the bottom doesn’t fall completely out if and when they bench Jones.
Because while they would love to be in position to pick their preferred quarterback, there is no guarantee they will be the GM and coach in April if the team goes completely in the tank.
Daboll actually is the odds-on favorite to be the next NFL head coach fired, according to Bookies.com, at +250 (a 28.6% chance) ahead of the Jaguars’ Doug Pederson (+375, 21.1%) and the Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy (+450, 18.2%).
And if Giants co-owner John Mara has ever been passionate about anything, other than his franchise and his fans, it is about his vehement refusal to ever endorse tanking a season.
If Daboll could show offensive improvement with backup Drew Lock under center, however, he and Schoen might at least be able to build an argument for sticking around. And that might help the organization stomach more losses with April’s high draft pick in mind.
Top-five quarterback picks aren’t guaranteed to pan out, obviously. No one views the 2025 QB class as comparable to this year’s class led by Williams, Daniels and Maye, either.
The Giants need to draft a quarterback in April, though.
It’s impossible to imagine Schoen and Daboll only signing a stop-gap veteran and foregoing another opportunity to draft their quarterback of the future, assuming they’re still here.
Plus, they only have to like one of them.
If they lose their way toward the top of the NFL Draft board, they only need to fall in love with just one quarterback like Miami’s Cam Ward, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Texas’ Quinn Ewers.
If they push this Jones experiment too far past its expiration date, however, they could end up right where they landed last April: on the outside looking in at the draft’s top prospects, and still on the hook to Jones for millions even if he’s no longer on the team.
That’s if they still have those jobs to make the pick.
TRACY ‘TRENDING IN RIGHT DIRECTION’
Top Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (concussion protocol) was upgraded to limited practice participation in a red, non-contact jersey on Thursday, and Daboll said Tracy is “trending in the right direction” to play Sunday against the Commanders.
Left guard Jon Runyan Jr., meanwhile, was added on Thursday as limited with a foot injury to a Giants injury report that now includes 16 names for Week 9.
Special teams receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles) and punter Jamie Gillan (left hamstring) were sidelined for a second straight practice.
Ten total players were limited. Tracy and Runyan were joined by tackle Josh Ezeudu (knee), center John Michael Schmitz (calf), special teams linebacker Ty Summers (ankle), guard Jake Kubas (abdomen), returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) and corners Cor’Dale Flott (groin), Tre Hawkins (ankle) and Adoree’ Jackson (neck).
Daboll said Jackson should be “good to go” Sunday.
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (rest), edge rusher Brian Burns (Achilles/biceps), tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (hip) and special teams linebacker Matt Adams (knee) were full participants.
