Daniel Jones’ Giants future seems very much up in the air after a season-ending knee injury.
His predecessor doesn’t think that should be the case.
Eli Manning stood up for Jones, whom the Giants signed to a four-year, $160 million contract last offseason, during an appearance on the “Marchand & Ourand Sports Media Podcast.”
Manning said the Giants need to keep building around the 26-year-old, who tore his right ACL on Nov. 5 against the Raiders.
“They saw Daniel Jones, they were around him. They had him for a year and they trusted that, ‘Hey, this is a kid that has a bunch of upside,’” Manning told Andrew Marchand and John Ourand of the new Giants regime that started in 2022. “He’s still in the first year of the offense, played extremely well. He can run, he’s tough. He can make the throws. Just unfortunately, this was a tough year with injuries. … And so, I think you still got to trust your quarterback.
“He’s going to come back, he’s going to be healthy. He works hard. He’s a great teammate. He does all the intangible things really, really well, and I think they got to trust him, can put some guys, get help around them and continue to grow with these teams. I think when you sign your key guys to contracts, Saquon [Barkley], Dexter Lawrence, Daniel … you put these guys, you keep adding guys around them and you don’t just say, hey, switch it up right away because you have one bad year.”
Jones, whom former Giants GM Dave Gettleman selected at No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, had the best year of his career in 2022 under first-year head coach Brian Daboll as the Giants made a surprising run to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.
The Duke product set career-highs with 3,205 yards passing and a 67.2 completion percentage, while throwing 15 touchdowns against just five interceptions in 16 games.
Jones also broke out as a rusher, racking up 708 yards on the ground with seven rushing touchdowns.
But 2023 turned into a disaster for Jones, who missed three games with a neck injury before suffering the ACL tear in the first half during his first game back.
He finishes the season with 909 yards passing, two touchdowns and six interceptions in six games.
The Giants currently line up to land the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, with many wondering if they will take a quarterback like Caleb Williams or Drake Maye to succeed Jones, whose contract the Giants can’t reasonably get out of until after next season.
While Manning — whose final year was Jones’ rookie season in 2019 — is rooting for the Giants, he admitted he isn’t taking the losses as hard as the fan base.
“I think it’s different when you played for a team, and so I resonate with the players,” Manning said. “Think about what they’re going through. I’m pals with Daniel Jones. I talk with Saquon and Sterling Shepard, the guys who I play with, and so I feel for ’em. I feel for more of the players than the diehard fans that have been watching the Giants for 40 years and they go to every game and it’s like the family tradition.
“We go to the games when I’m there, I’m cheering for ’em and I want ’em to win. It is one of those deals — if they happen to lose, it’s not going to ruin my Sunday, my Monday, my Tuesday. It used to, as a player it does, and I think I’ve just, it’s stressful. It’s stressful for my family. It’s stressful for my wife to the extreme. It ruins the rest of your week as a player. So I’m like, I don’t want to do that anymore.”
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