Daboll noncommittal on Jones as Giants' QB1 after bye week
The New York Giants are open to a quarterback change.
Head coach Brian Daboll didn't commit to keeping Daniel Jones as New York's starter after the team's Week 11 bye.
"We're going to spend a lot of time watching tape and evaluating," Daboll said Monday, according to Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic. "We're evaluating our team at the bye week."
It's the first time Daboll has left the door open for Jones to be benched this season. The oft-criticized signal-caller is coming off a disappointing Week 10 performance, as he completed just 59.5% of his passes for 190 yards and no touchdowns against two interceptions in a loss to the Carolina Panthers. He added 26 yards and one TD on the ground.
The defeat dropped New York to 2-8 this year and 24-44-1 with Jones as the starter. Drew Lock would presumably start if Jones is benched. Lock has 23 NFL starts under his belt but has attempted only eight passes in 2024.
"We're going to get started on this process here of going back and looking at everything you normally look at in a bye week," Daboll added, according to SNY. "Schemes, situational stuff, technique, all the things you do in a normal bye week. Evaluate the players."
Daboll's outfit hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12.
In 10 games this season, Jones has completed 63.3% of his passes for 2,070 yards and eight touchdowns to seven interceptions. His 79.4 passer rating would be his worst in a season with at least 10 starts.
Jones helped New York make the playoffs in 2022 but missed most of the 2023 season with a torn ACL. The 27-year-old, whom the Giants selected sixth overall in 2019, signed a four-year, $160-million extension in March 2023. He's signed through the 2026 campaign.
His deal currently doesn't include any guaranteed money beyond 2024, according to Over The Cap. However, if Jones sustains an injury that prevents him from passing a physical by March, the Giants would owe him $23 million fully guaranteed in 2025, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.