The New York Giants benched quarterback Daniel Jones last week, and he was expected to remain a backup until the team moved on from him this offseason. However, the Giants instead parted ways with their former No. 6 overall pick immediately.
On Friday, the Giants announced that Jones had asked for his release, and that the team would grant Jones his request. Jones officially headed to waivers Saturday, and cleared waivers on Monday. He is officially an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.
Giants president John Mara released a statement on his former quarterback:
"Daniel came to see me this morning and asked if we would release him. 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."
Jones broke his silence on his benching less than 24 hours before his release, saying it was an honor to play for this franchise, while taking responsibility for the fact that there were more lows than highs over the past six years.
"The opportunity to play for the New York Giants was truly a dream come true and I am extremely grateful ... for the chance to play here," Jones said. "The Giants are truly a first class organization and I have nothing but genuine respect and appreciation for the people who built it and who help carry on the tradition. I met so many specialty people and created relationships that will truly last a lifetime. Thank you all my teammates, coaches and staff that have done so much for me these past six years. There have been some great times, but of course we all wish there had been more of those."
The reason the Giants were keeping Jones on roster until this offseason (and why they benched him in the first place) had to do with money. As Spotrac points out, this decision to part ways with Jones now and put this entire saga behind them leaves the Giants with dead cap hits of $47.1 million in 2024 and $22.1 million in 2025. But the Giants do free up $19.4 million in cap space for next year. Overall, there was not much difference in releasing Jones now compared to releasing him the day after the Super Bowl.
But if Jones was released with a post-June 1 designation, NFL Media reported that the Giants would carry $11.1 million dead cap hits in 2025 and 2026 and save $30.5 million in 2025. Prior to Friday, that was the expected outcome -- since the Giants could spread the dead money over two years. From a business standpoint, releasing Jones right now is not the ideal move as it pertains to the 2025 salary cap, but the organization wanted to do right by Jones.
Jones' fall over the past five days was a dramatic one. He went 2-8 as the starter this year, and completed 63.3% of his passes for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. It was clear the Giants made the decision to bench Jones to protect themselves from the $23 million injury guarantee in his contract, but general manager Joe Schoen maintained it was a "football decision." Jones was demoted from QB1 to QB3/QB4 to ensure he wouldn't see the field, which was a storyline in itself, and then he was spotted playing scout team safety at practice, which led to criticisms on social media.
The Giants may have had enough of the negative headlines, but this decision also allows Jones to move on with his career. After he clears waivers, Jones will be free to sign with any team.
