Daniel Jones breaks silence on Giants benching
11/21/2024 04:33 PM
Following the New York Giants' Week 10 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Germany, the team finally decided to bench quarterback Daniel Jones. The overseas defeat dropped the Giants to 2-8 on the season, which is the second worst record in the NFL behind the 2-9 Jacksonville Jaguars.
Backup QB Tommy DeVito will start in place of Jones when New York attempts to end its five-game losing streak against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Despite losing his starting job – a role he's held with the Giants since taking over for Eli Manning in Week 3 of 2019 – Jones was gracious when publicly discussing the change for the first time.
"The opportunity to play for the New York Giants was truly a dream come true," Jones said at a press conference via SNY Giants Videos on X.
"There've been some great times but of course we all wish there'd been more of those. I take full responsibility for my part in not bringing more wins. No one wanted to win more games worse than me and I gave everything I had on the field in my preparation. Of course this season has been disappointing for all and of course I wish I could have done more. I'm 100 percent accountable for my part. I did not play well enough consistently enough to help the team get the results [we wanted]," Jones added.
It’s been an ugly season for Daniel Jones and the Giants
New York selected Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Duke. Despite inconsistent play over his first four years in the league, the Giants awarded Jones a four-year, $160 million contract prior to the 2023 season. The veteran QB only appeared in six games last year after battling injuries early before succumbing to a season-ending knee injury.
This season, Jones has stayed healthy but instead of taking a step forward as the Giants had hoped, the sixth-year passer has regressed significantly. After 10 games, Jones has 2,070 passing yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. his play has deteriorated. He's led New York to last place in the NFC East, behind the free falling Dallas Cowboys.
While Jones continued to struggle, head coach Brian Daboll refused to consider benching the quarterback. After a backbreaking loss to the Panthers in Week 10, the Giants finally pulled the trigger, sitting Jones and giving DeVito a shot. And the news only got worse for Jones from there as the team announced that Drew Lock would be the backup in Week 12, making the $160 million QB the team's third-string option.
Jones could actually get demoted again as the Giants may turn to practice squader Tim Boyle as the number three quarterback. This would make Jones the team's fourth-string QB.
Still, the former starter is putting the Giants first. When asked if he'd stay with New York for the remainder of the season, Jones acknowledged, "I'm still kind of processing, for now I'm doing my best to help Tommy [DeVito] prepare and help the team prepare," per Clutchpoints on X, via SNY Giants Videos.
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