Giants Quarterback Worst Off-season Move? Yes, But Not That One, Says TSN

By all accounts, the New York Giants had a productive off-season in terms of filling some glaring gaps on their roster.

But the team made one off-season move that, according to Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News, was their worst, and that move involved the quarterback.

No, not that one. Rather, Iyer opines that the Giants’ signing of Drew Lock as the team’s backup takes the cake for the worst off-season move made by Giants general manager Joe Schoen.

“It's less the price tag of adding the former Bronco and Seahawk at $5 million for one season and more the principle of being wishy-washy about their feelings on Daniel Jones' starting status,” Iyer wrote.

“Is Lock a contingency or a fallback plan minus any real movement on trying to replace Jones with another franchise passer? It's still difficult to know.”

Vinnie, if you’re reading this, know that I love you, but also understand this isn’t as hard as you’re making it out to be.

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Jones is coming off a torn ACL suffered in Week 9 last year. While he’s been making progress in his rehab, the team knew all along that a) they couldn’t know for certain if Jones would be ready for Week 1 and b) if they’d be able to re-sign Tyrod Taylor, who was the backup for the last two seasons.

That being the case, Schoen said after the season that the team would look to add to the quarterback room, preferably someone who could step in and win some games if Jones wasn’t available and Taylor didn’t re-sign.

That someone turned out to be Lock after Taylor took his talents to the other locker room in MetLife Stadium when he signed with the Jets.

Lock, who was unable to hold onto the Broncos’ starting job despite being a second-round pick in 2019 and who couldn’t beat out Geno Smith in Seattle, engineered an impressive 20-17 win last year against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14, finishing with a 1-1 record as a starter in 2023.

Iyer might have a point in questioning if the Giants were wishy-washy about Jones’s status as their future, especially if reports about the Giants looking to trade up in the first round of the draft to land former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye are accurate.

If New York were that committed to Jones, they would likely not have been looking to give up premium assets to move up for a quarterback.

Iyer is also correct in saying that Lock is the contingency plan if things don’t work out with Jones, but it’s unlikely that he would be the long-term solution if the Giants decide to exit the deal–if that were the case, then it might have made more sense to sign Lock to a multiyear deal.

But at least the Giants' intentions for this year were clear despite reports suggesting that Lock was actually brought in to compete for the starting job. Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have said Jones gets the starting job once he’s healthy enough. Until there is evidence to the contrary, it will be Jones under center in Week 1.

Whether the former Duke star can keep it is another story. If he is injured again or if he doesn’t play well and the team gets off to another dismal start, then Jones, who has a $23 million injury guarantee in his contract in 2025 that kicks in if he can’t pass a physical, will likely be benched so the Giants don’t risk having to pay out that guarantee.