It's safe to say that Mark Schlereth isn't a fan of the New York Giants deciding to bench Daniel Jones coming out of their Week 11 bye. Or at least the way the organization is handling the aftermath of the decision. The former three-time Super Bowl champion and current NFL analyst on FS1 went scorched earth on the franchise, particularly taking issue with the team elevating former third-stringer Tommy DeVito as the starter over primary backup Drew Lock.
"This is why the Giants suck," Schlereth said on Tuesday on FS1, via Giants Wire. "Drew Lock has been your backup quarterback for the entirety of the season, right? He was the guy, if Daniel Jones was going to get hurt, he was the guy that was going in. He was good enough to do that for you for the entirety of this season.
"But as soon as you decide to bench Daniel Jones, you decide to go with the sideshow, Tommy Cutlets. Because why? Because your fan base will be excited?"
Lock's contract may be what has helped prevent him from taking over as the starter. As highlighted by Spotrac, Lock receives $250,000 each for 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% of snaps played. On top of that, he earns an additional $250,000 if he records a 92.5 passer rating and/or 65% completion rate. If he records at least an 88 passer rating and 15 passing touchdowns or 2,000 passing yards, he makes another $250,000. While this is a moot point given the team's 2-8 record, Lock would've received a half-million dollars if he played at least 55% of the offensive snaps and the Giants made the playoffs.
"Like, to me, this is the biggest issue. You're a bad franchise. You need to attract free agents to come to your franchise," said Schlereth. "If I'm a free agent player, and all things being equal from a money standpoint, I look at this clown show versus some other team… I'm not going to the Giants. That's a clown show.
"That guy worked all year to be the backup to get his opportunity. He signed there to have an opportunity because he knew Daniel Jones was questionable and at the 11th hour you decide, 'no, we're going to go with (DeVito).'"
When it comes to Lock's situation, Schlereth is right to point out that it isn't the greatest look for the Giants when it comes to free agents. Meanwhile, the benching of Jones also hasn't been universally well received by the locker room, with star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence publicly stating this week that he still believes Jones is the best quarterback on the roster.
