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The New York Giants have benched Daniel Jones in favor of Tommy DeVito. Not only that, but Jones will be the third-string quarterback behind Drew Lock. With a potential out in the contract, it is likely that Jones will not be on the team next season. They can look in-house, sign a free agent, make a trade, or draft a quarterback. Is Sam Darnold the best option? Let's assess the options.
The Giants will save nearly $20 million by cutting Jones at the end of the season. While that will be a black mark on Joe Schoen's general manager record, it is a necessary move for the future of the organization. The tremendous cap relief also gives the team a lane to improve the team around the new quarterback. Despite the horrid quarterback play getting the headlines, there are not many worse teams in the league top-to-bottom than the Giants.
Will Schoen make a trade before next season for a new quarterback? Or is it a free-agent acquisition?
Giants sign Sam Darnold
The Minnesota Vikings have been a surprising team this season largely because of Sam Darnold's solid play. He is not blowing anyone away with incredible throws, but has managed games well and not turned the ball over. Just that would be a dramatic improvement over Jones, who has been brutal in those departments this season.
Darnold faltered as a rookie with the Jets. That could be seen as a positive or negative for Giants fans. He has familiarity with the New York scene and won't be surprised by the amount of media coverage. He also failed miserably in his limited opportunities. That was long ago, well before he learned under Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy last year. Darnold has proven to be a different quarterback this year and one that could succeed with New York.
This would be a low-cost option for the Giants, who will look to save some money on this move. Even with Darnold's excellent season, he likely won't get a massive quarterback contract. He still has to prove he can do it over a full season and has struggled at points this year. A two-year, $20 million commitment with incentives makes sense here.
A trade with the Raiders lands a project QB
The Las Vegas Raiders have been brutal this season and will likely draft a quarterback in 2025. While the Giants could do that as well, more on that later, they could also look for a Raiders QB to come east. Both Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell are under contract for next season and if Shedeur Sanders comes to town, one will likely be out. That's when Joe Schoen should get involved.
If Schoen gets his way, it would be O'Connell who gets traded. He is much younger than Minshew, has shown a little bit of promise, and has the slightest chance of being a franchise guy. A career backup, Minshew won't be the Giants quarterback for more than one season.
There has been conversation on social media that Matthew Stafford would be a great fit, but the team denied any truth to trade rumors. While he would be the best option, it does not seem realistic to get Stafford into East Rutherford.
Joe Schoen finally drafts a quarterback
Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen came into the Giants organization with Daniel Jones already installed as the quarterback. He was playing for a contract in 2022 and had the best season of his career. After he won a playoff game against the Vikings, they had no choice but to make him the quarterback of the future. That has been a disastrous decision.
The quarterback class is not considered to be strong, especially last year's class. Sanders, Cam Ward, Carson Beck, and Quinn Ewers are considered the top of the group. None of them have the shine around them at this point that Caleb Williams and Drake Maye had. Drafting a quarterback gives the regime the longest leash, so it is most likely what is going to happen.
It's cutlets time!
When this decision was announced, the most notable piece was who the starting quarterback would be. Tommy DeVito will be under center for the Giants against the Buccaneers on Sunday. When Jones was injured last year, Tommy Cutlets and his agent Sean Stellato became internet legends. While some Giants fans correctly point out that DeVito cost them a chance at Jayden Daniels, others correctly point out that he was the best quarterback they had last year.
If DeVito shines again, the Giants could convince themselves that he is the franchise guy. They should draft a developmental quarterback behind him, but Cutlets being the opening-day starter next year is not out of the question. It is for more than just the internet memes too, as he played with confidence that Jones did not in 2023.
