Just 16 games into a four-year, $160 million extension, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has been benched.
The former first-round pick had led the Giants to a 2-8 start in 2024, tied for the worst record in football, and a 3-13 record overall since signing his extension. A Week 10 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Germany before the team’s Week 11 bye proved to be the breaking point for Jones and the Giants.
New York is currently in position to select a new franchise quarterback with a top pick in the 2025 NFL draft and have a potential out on Jones’ contract after the 2024 season.
However, the quarterback’s contract includes an injury guarantee for the 2025 season, meaning a significant part of Jones’ salary for next year becomes guaranteed if he suffers a football-related injury before the Giants release him. That could have provided extra incentive for the decision to bench the signal-caller for the remaining seven games of 2024.
Here’s who else the Giants can start under center for the rest of the season:
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Giants QB depth chart
New York has two quarterbacks besides Jones on its 2024 roster.
Tommy DeVito
Drew Lock
Daniel Jones (benched)
Set to take over the Giants’ starting quarterback role is 26-year-old Tommy DeVito, who joined the Giants as an undrafted free agent last season. Thanks to injuries to Jones and former backup Tyrod Taylor, the Illinois product made his NFL debut in Week 8 against the New York Jets. He went on to appear in eight more games, starting six of them to the tune of a 3-3 record that included a three-game win streak against the Commanders, Patriots and Packers.
DeVito holds a 64% career completion rate to go with 1,101 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns and three interceptions. He has not appeared in a game for the Giants yet this year.
Continuing his Giants stint as a backup quarterback is Drew Lock, whom New York signed to a one-year, $5 million deal ahead of the 2024 season. Lock previously played with the Denver Broncos from 2019 to 2021 before becoming part of the Russell Wilson trade, sending the youngster to the Seattle Seahawks.
Lock had 23 career starts prior to the 2024 season, 21 of which were with Denver. He holds a 9-14 record in his career with a completion rate of 59.4%, 5,289 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Lock, not Jones, will be the second-string quarterback for the Giants going forward, according to head coach Brian Daboll.
Daniel Jones stats
Here’s where Jones’ stats ended up prior to his benching 10 games into the season:
Completion rate: 216-of-341 (63.3%)
Passing yards: 2,070
Yards per completion: 9.6
Passing touchdowns: 8
Interceptions: 7
Passer rating: 79.4
Rush attempts: 67
Rushing yards: 265
Yards per rush: 4.0
Rushing touchdowns: 2
Jones’ passer rating is his lowest outside of a six-game 2023 season (70.5). His yards per completion is also his lowest outside of 2023 (8.4).