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Big Blue View
Daniel Jones era is over — New York Giants are benching the quarterback
The move to bench Jones was pretty widely expected over the bye week. Not only is Jones coming off of a poor performance against the Carolina Panthers, but he had already been benched for the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The bye week following the trip to Munich is a natural break point to make such a significant change.
In a recent survey, 57% of the Big Blue View community responded that they want to see Tommy DeVito retake the reins of the Giants’ offense, and it seems they will get their wish.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the team is going with former UDFA Tommy DeVito as their starter after moving on from Jones.
DeVito will make his debut as the Giants’ chosen starter when the Giants play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home this week.
Big Blue View
2025 NFL Draft order: Giants lose without playing, drop to No. 5 overall
The Giants lose three draft spots over their bye week
The New York Giants currently hold the fifth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, per Tankathon. While they still have a top-5 pick, it’s a drop from the second overall selection they held after their 20-17 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 10.
The Giants weren’t on the field for Week 11, but it was still potentially consequential for them. We’ve since learned that the team has benched quarterback Daniel Jones, and will start 2023 UDFA Tommy DeVito in his place.
It’s somewhat remarkable that there are five teams with two wins and six teams with eight losses. We should expect the order of the teams in the top ten to shuffle and reshuffle over the next seven weeks. However, it’s notable just how many quarterback-needy teams are within striking distance of the top spot.
The quarterback depth chart in the 2025 draft is generally seen as Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and then everyone else. It’s possible (or perhaps even likely) that the Giants could become enamored with Jalen Milroe’s physical traits, however it’s no lock that he declares for the draft. They could also find Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart appealing, as he’s had almost as good a year as Jayden Daniels had for LSU last year. Dart also has excellent traits in his own right, with plus athleticism and arm talent. However, he hasn’t maintained his level of play against better opponents, which could (or will) be viewed as a red flag.
Life is certainly more interesting (read: complicated) for the Giants now than it was a couple months ago. It’s possible that Their Guy at quarterback could fall into their laps, but it’s also possible that they once again find themselves on the outside looking in. How the next seven games play out could have a profound impact on the future of the Giants’ team.
ESPN
New York Giants bench QB Daniel Jones — what now?
Why did the Giants do this now … and is Jones done in New York?
Schoen said at his bye week news conference this would be a “football decision.” Sure, but they had to at least think about the injury guarantee that exists where if Jones were to suffer a serious injury over the final seven weeks it could activate a $23 million injury guarantee for next season. Considering there is a reasonable out in the contract after this season, we have likely seen the last of Daniel Jones in a meaningful role as a Giant. — Jordan Raanan
What are the short- and long-term realities around Jones’ contract for the Giants? How does the injury guarantee work?
Jones has two years remaining on his contract after 2024, with salaries of $30 million in 2025 and $46.5 million in 2026. None of that money is guaranteed at the moment, but $23 million of his 2025 salary is guaranteed against injury. That means if Jones were to suffer an injury that prevented him from being able to pass a physical next March, the Giants would owe him that $23 million whether or not he’s on the team. This is the argument for sitting him down now — to avoid a situation in which he does get hurt, putting the Giants on the hook for that money.
Separate from the injury guarantee, if Jones is on the Giants’ roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year, $12 million of his salary for 2025 becomes fully guaranteed. This would be the argument for cutting him — even if he’s healthy — before the start of the league year in March. If the Giants were to release Jones after this season and before any of the money becomes guaranteed, they would incur a dead-money salary cap hit of $22.21 million on their 2025 cap as a result of the remaining proration of his signing bonus … but would owe him no more actual cash. Trading him would incur the same dead-money implications as a release. And designating him as a post-June 1 release (or trading him after June 1) would allow the Giants to spread the dead-money hit out over two years. — Dan Graziano
What are the implications of this move for coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen?
They’re out of people to blame. They overhauled Daboll’s coaching staff leading into this season and the roster is theirs after three years.
Are the Giants now locked in on taking a quarterback in the 2025 draft? Who are some early names on the radar?
With Jones likely playing elsewhere in 2025, the Giants will indeed be looking for a franchise quarterback in the offseason. ESPN’s Football Power Index has New York projected to land the No. 4 overall pick, which would potentially give it the opportunity to take Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
NFL Trade Rumors
NFC Notes: Jahan Dotson, Jason Witten, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants
Eagles WR Jahan Dotson thinks people forget he was a former first-round pick by the Commanders in 2022 and is focused on making the most of the opportunities that come his way.
“People tend to forget that I was a first-round pick. I can make plays,” Dotson said, via the team’s site. “Just because I’m the third receiver in this offense, I don’t get a lot of opportunities, so I got to make the most of them when they come. But I have the ultimate confidence in myself. If the ball’s in there, I’m going to come down with it, and I’m going to make a play.”
Philadelphia squared off with Washington on Thursday Night, but Dotson didn’t put any extra emphasis on playing his former team.
“I’m just trying to treat it like a normal week, it’s a short week,” Dotson said. “The main thing is the main thing, that’s to come out on top and get the W.”
When asked about the experience of getting traded, Dotson said he didn’t have a lot of time to process the move because he was quickly getting involved in Philadelphia’s system.
“(It was) pretty quick, just because I got here so fast. I had one week to kind of learn things and get involved, so I got over it very quickly. I had about a three-hour car ride to get over it and I was able to do that and move on,” Dotson said.
ESPN
Mixon, Texans’ defense too much for Cowboys on MNF
The Houston Texans defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34-10 at AT&T Stadium for the first time in franchise history Monday and snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Texans were fueled by running back Joe Mixon’s three rushing touchdowns and 109 rushing yards.
They jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and their defense carried them for the rest of the game. Houston sacked Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush five times, intercepted him once and scored a touchdown on a strip sack.
NFL.com
Texans-Cowboys on ‘Monday Night Football’: What We Learned from Houston’s 34-10 win
Cowboys continue miserable trudge to nowhere. Honestly, where does Dallas go from here? The sky is legitimately falling at AT&T Stadium, where the pregame descent of a metal piece of the facility’s roof caused concern and forced officials to spring into action.
We’ve already heard plenty about the Cowboys’ issues with where the sun sets. They’ve lost their quarterback, they have at most two weapons in their lineup right now (Lamb and Turpin), and they aren’t scaring anyone left on their schedule. Even Micah Parsons’ return couldn’t bring the defense out of its struggles, and with seven games left, there simply isn’t much to look forward to for Dallas fans.
Are coaching changes imminent? Perhaps. But before that happens, Cowboys fans are going to be forced to saddle up for more of these ugly outings in the final weeks of 2024. Perhaps they’ll find their footing in two weeks against the Giants — which, of course, will be far too late to save this season.
NFL Research: With Monday night’s 34-10 loss to the Texans, the Cowboys have trailed by at least 20 points in six straight home games dating back to last season’s Super Wild Card Weekend loss to Green Bay, which is an NFL record streak.