After six years with the Giants, one day of practice spent as the scout-team safety and one heartfelt farewell statement, Daniel Jones is leaving New York.
The Giants are granting Jones' request to be released Friday, the team announced.
"Daniel came to see me this morning and asked if we would release him," owner John Mara said in a statement. "We mutually agreed that would be best for him and for the team. Daniel has been a great representative of our organization, first class in every way. His handling of this situation yesterday exemplifies just that. We are all disappointed in how things have worked out. We hold Daniel in high regard and have a great appreciation for him. We wish him nothing but the best in the future."
Judging by the tone of Jones' statement delivered after Thursday's practice, the next logical step was for him and the Giants to part ways. The former first-round pick and recipient of a four-year, $160 million contract extension had not performed well enough in 2024 to preserve his starting job, and when he was officially benched by coach Brian Daboll earlier this week, he was sent from the top of the depth chart to the lowest possible slot: QB4, behind recent addition Tim Boyle.
Logically, Jones was demoted because of his performance. New York's offense ranks dead last in scoring at 15.6 points per game, and after a brief run of relative success, Jones has been generally ineffective in recent games, throwing two interceptions in a Week 10 overtime loss to Carolina in Munich, Germany.
The financial element also played a significant factor. While Jones' salary and bonuses were fully guaranteed in 2023 and 2024, $23 million of his salary was guaranteed only for injury in 2025. If the Giants were going to move on from Jones at the end of this season, they had to eliminate the risk of injury, leading to his fall from the top to the bottom of the depth chart.
Jones didn't need to ask to be released, but after attracting plenty of attention for his diminished role in practice Thursday -- leading to his classy post-practice statement -- Jones decided it was best to depart and determine where he might next play football in the NFL. The decision closes the book on a tenure that saw Jones struggle in his first few years before Daboll arrived in 2022. Under Daboll, Jones helped the Giants reach the playoffs and earn a surprise postseason win over the Vikings in their first season together, convincing New York to hand Jones the extension that eventually contributed to his departure.
In the next two seasons, however, Jones and Daboll couldn't replicate their magical success, making Jones' $160 million extension look increasingly worse with each passing week. They reached a new low in their loss to the Panthers, prompting Daboll to bench Jones in what certainly seemed like a final decision on the quarterback's future in New York.
"We had a really good talk, Daniel and I," Daboll said Friday. "Got a lot of respect for him. Again, not the way we wanted it to turn out by any stretch, but he's been nothing but a pro since I've been here with him. He's a great young man."
Daboll added that he announced Jones' release to the team ahead of Friday's walkthrough for New York's Week 12 game against Tampa Bay.
"I let them know," the Giants coach. "I wanted them to hear it."
The sixth-year QB will be subject to waivers. Any team claiming him would be responsible for the remaining $11,833,333 he's guaranteed in 2024, making a claim highly unlikely, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported.
At minimum, Jones will free himself from the microscopic scrutiny of the New York market by choosing to leave the Giants now. He's affording himself time to reset before pursuing his next opportunity, while also freeing the Giants from answering questions regarding their future with the Duke product.
Daboll, meanwhile, will proceed with a depth chart that currently lists Tommy DeVito as the Giants' starter. At 2-8, Daboll needs to prove he deserves his job over the final seven weeks of the season.