With training camp right around the corner for NFL teams, including the New York Giants, they’re hoping for much better results after last season when they finished with a disappointing mark of 6-11. It was the sixth time in the last seven years that the Giants finished the regular season with 10 or more losses. Starting quarterback Daniel Jones will be a big reason for their success or failure.
This Giants team, however, will look a lot different on offense. This offseason, their Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley left New York to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year deal. Despite adding more pieces on offense, most notably drafting star wide receiver Malik Nabers out of LSU with the sixth overall pick, this Giants team could again face some issues.
They will, however, welcome back their franchise quarterback Daniel Jones, who, after getting a new four-year, $160 million contract, had his season cut short with a neck injury. Soon after, he suffered a season-ending torn ACL. Injuries have become a mounting problem throughout Jones’ career, so it should not be surprising that 2024 is a critical year for the Giants signal-caller. He must prove to team management and Giants’ fans that he can be Big Blue’s franchise quarterback in the future.
Daniel Jones’ Injury History
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The injury bug has bit Jones since he entered the league in 2019. Jones has only played one full season in the NFL once in his career, which was in 2022. That is not sustainable for the Giants, especially after how the Giants’ season unraveled last season. Jones has had a hard time staying healthy, from an ankle injury to a neck injury, hamstring injury, and knee injury.
With Daniel Jones under center for the Giants, New York has averaged 19.2 points per game. When he’s not out there, the Giants’ offense has averaged 15.7. While those numbers aren’t impressive, you can still tell the difference. If Jones wants to be the Giants’ quarterback going forward, staying healthy for all of 2024 has to be on his mind.
Daniel Jones’s Contract
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Despite Jones getting $92 million in guaranteed money, there can still be a scenario that the Giants can move on from the former first-round pick if the Giants have another rough season. After the 2024 season, the Giants have an out on his contract, which means if New York decides to move on from him next offseason, the Giants can release him before the 2025 season and only take a dead cap figure of $22.2 million, thanks to the Giants frontloading his contract.
While it does not seem likely as of right now that the Giants are thinking about it, it should not be ruled out if Jones has another rough and injury-riddled season.
Life Without Saquon Barkley
Losing Barkley was a tough pill to swallow for the Giants and Giants fans everywhere, as he was, without question, the Giants’ best player on offense. When he was healthy, he picked up the bulk of the load for the Giants on offense as he was relied on to have explosive runs and catch passes out of the backfield.
Daniel Jones relied on him so much when the two were on the field together, but Jones struggled when he was not on the field. When the two were on the field together, Jones had a passer rating of 90.1 with 46 touchdowns to 20 interceptions in 38 games. But when the two weren’t on the field together, he struggled mightily as his passer rating was 76.1, with 16 touchdowns to 20 interceptions in 22 games.
With Barkley gone, Jones has to prove he can be effective without him, even though his stats appear otherwise. Daniel Jones has the weapons to play at a high level, like Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt, and Darius Slayton, to name a few. Will he take advantage of it?
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