Giants QB Daniel Jones Ain't Done Yet Despite Growing Calls to Replace Him

Jones clearly has a chip on his shoulder and a determination to silence his critics.

May 23, 2024: New York Giants QB Daniel Jones speaks to reporters following OTA #3. / Patricia Traina | NY Giants On SI

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has claimed in the past that he doesn’t pay attention to what voices outside the team’s headquarters say about him or the team.

But these days, it’s kind of hard for him to avoid it, not with radio, internet, print, and television folks on both a local and national level continuing to question Jones’s worthiness to lead the franchise.

But Jones, who has always prided himself on his toughness on the field, has shown a toughness off the field--sort of like defiance, if you will—every time someone comes at him with a question about his worthiness to steer the Giants ship on offense.

“I'm focused on what I need to do,” Jones said Thursday after the team completed its third OTA of the spring. “I'm focused on playing the best football I can play. I'm always motivated. I consider myself a really driven guy. I'm always going to work as hard as I possibly can.”

Jones, who is currently rehabbing a torn ACL, is, according to the quarterback, “in a good spot” regarding his rehab. He again emphasized that he has no doubts about whether he’ll be fully cleared to do everything by the time training camp begins late next month.

Although he admitted that he wasn’t fired up about the possibility of the Giants taking a quarterback in the draft. But in as much as they didn’t after being heavily rumored to want Drake Maye, Jones is taking the high road.

“I don't think you can take anything personally at this level,” he said. “How exactly it happened and what happened, I'm not sure I know—and I'm not sure you know. At the end of the day, I'm focused on playing good football.”

Although Jones claims he was not told of the team’s draft intentions ahead of time, he still feels good about the team's direction.

“I feel good about this team,” Jones said when asked if he feels Schoen and Daboll are committed to him for the long term. “My job is to get healthy and play good football.”

Jones won’t admit to it, but he has a chip on his shoulder, and that could very well work to the Giants’ advantage. The last time the Giants “doubted” Jones was when they didn’t pick up the option year in his rookie contract in 2022. 

Jones went on to play his best season, leading the Giants to a 9-7-1 record and to the playoffs, where he won a playoff game against Minnesota. That performance landed him his current four-year, $160 million deal for which the critics continue to chirp loudly about the former Duke star being grossly overpaid.

“I always feel like I have a lot to prove,” Jones said. “I'm motivated, I’m doing everything I can to be ready to go.”

He’s also ticked off, though he did his best to hide it behind his usual stoic demeanor. And if Jones, once fully cleared to return from a torn ACL, can channel those feelings into playing lights-out ball, the Giants will certainly take it.  

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