Daniel Jones made a heartfelt statement commemorating his six years with the Giants on Thursday, prompting questions regarding whether he would finish the season with the team.
Less than 24 hours later, Jones is on the open market.
The Giants released Jones on Friday, four days after benching him and demoting him to scout team safety to ensure he doesn’t trigger the injury guarantee in his contract.
Jones’ time with the Giants was up regardless of whether he stayed on the roster, but the unusual scene that played out at New York’s facility on Thursday had some wondering whether it was worth it to keep the former first-round pick on the roster at all.
Here’s a look at why the Giants released Jones less than two years into his lucrative four-year contract.
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Why was Daniel Jones released?
The Giants announced that Jones requested and was granted his release on Friday. Jones said during Thursday’s press conference that he was still deciding whether to stay with the team through the end of the season, indicating that the move was on the table.
In a statement, the Giants said they “mutually agreed” with Jones that his release “would be best for him and the team.”
Statement from the Giants on the release of QB Daniel Jones: pic.twitter.com/llrTepPF38
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 22, 2024
Asked why it took four days for Jones to be released after he was benched, coach Brian Daboll said “sometimes it takes a little longer” to reach a resolution but made it clear the 27-year-old came in with his request on Friday.
Out of the playoff conversation at 2-8, the Giants had no plans to let Jones back onto the field when they demoted him to No. 4 on the depth chart behind Tommy DeVito, Drew Lock and Tim Boyle. Jones played scout team safety in practice during the week, and it simply didn’t make much sense to keep him around if he had no chance of seeing the field again in a Giants uniform.
A major injury to Jones could have put the Giants on the hook for significantly more guaranteed money next season. Instead, Jones’ release on Friday leaves New York strapped with a bit more than $22.2 million in dead cap money for 2025.
Here’s the full breakdown of how Jones’ release impacts the Giants’ salary cap situation.
Daniel Jones cap hit
The Giants will absorb a $22.2 million dead cap hit for Jones next season before wiping the slate clean in 2026.
The #Giants release of QB Daniel Jones leaves behind dead cap hits of:
2024: $47.1M2025: $22.2M
NYG frees up $19.4M of cap for the 2025 season.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) November 22, 2024
While Jones’ four-year, $160 million contract was eye-popping, only about half of it was guaranteed. That opened the door for the Giants to move on after this season.
While his release comes earlier than anyone would have expected, New York will settle for a tolerable $22.2 million cap hit that would have become about $45 million if Jones suffered a major injury that prevented him from passing a physical in March.
Daniel Jones stats
Jones went 24-44-1 in 69 starts with the Giants, throwing for 70 touchdowns and just under 15,000 yards.
| Season | Starts | Comp. | Yards | TD | INT | Passer rating | Rush yards | Rush TD |
| 2019 | 12 | 61.9% | 3,027 | 24 | 12 | 87.7 | 279 | 2 |
| 2020 | 14 | 62.5% | 2,943 | 11 | 10 | 80.4 | 423 | 1 |
| 2021 | 11 | 64.3% | 2,428 | 10 | 7 | 84.8 | 298 | 2 |
| 2022 | 16 | 67.2% | 3,205 | 15 | 5 | 92.5 | 708 | 7 |
| 2023 | 6 | 67.5% | 909 | 2 | 6 | 70.5 | 206 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 63.3% | 2,070 | 8 | 7 | 79.4 | 265 | 2 |
| Career | 69 | 64.1% | 14,582 | 70 | 47 | 84.3 | 2,179 | 15 |
Ultimately, the consistency just wasn’t there for Jones. He got hot at the right times, impressing in his rookie season and turning in a strong all-around year in 2022 just before his contract was set to expire, so he was able to cash in before hitting free agency.
Jones didn’t play well before tearing his ACL in 2023, and 2024 was expected to be a make-or-break year. With the lowest passer rating of any of his five seasons with at least 10 starts, Jones didn’t do enough to leave the Giants even considering whether to hold onto him for 2025.
