John Mara vows to help Daniel Jones after Giants ‘screwed this kid up’
If Daniel Jones was smiling underneath his face mask while listening to new Giants general manager Joe Schoen sing his praises, the quarterback might have started dancing if he stuck around long enough to hear co-owner John Mara’s support.
“We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here,” Mara said. “We keep changing coaches, keep changing offensive coordinators, keep changing offensive line coaches. I take a lot of responsibility for that. Let’s bring in the right group of coaches now, give him some continuity, try to rebuild the offensive line and try to make an intelligent evaluation of whether he can be the franchise quarterback or not.”
Jones was one of a handful of players standing in the back of the Giants indoor practice facility Wednesday during Schoen’s introduction, which included a potentially awkward moment when he was asked to assess the quarterback’s future.
“I’m really excited to work with Daniel,” Schoen said, “and when the new [coaching] staff gets in here, we’ll build an offense around Daniel to accentuate what he does best.”
Even though actions — like extending Jones’ contract beyond the 2022 season — speak louder than words, it was unmistakably a vote of confidence. Former Giants head coach Joe Judge was a supporter of Jones’ but wouldn’t even say the quarterback’s name for his first few months on the job in 2020 because he felt it was important to first do a more thorough evaluation.
“We’re going to try to allow him to put his best foot forward,” Schoen said after two days of conversation with Jones inside the facility. “There’s not anyone in this building that has said a bad word about his work ethic, passion, desire to win. I think you have to have those traits as a quarterback. And the kid has talent — he has physical ability, he has arm strength, he can run.”
Mara ruled out trading for the Texans’ Deshaun Watson and echoed Schoen’s salary cap concerns, which seems to be an impediment to trading for the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson. Jones is scheduled to count for a modest $8.1 million against the cap in 2022, and the Giants must determine by May whether to exercise his fully guaranteed fifth-year option at $23.1 million for 2023.
“We’ll take our time on that one,” Schoen said, referencing the Panthers’ big commitment last year to Sam Darnold, which was rushed against the deadline after an April trade with the Jets. “You are locked into that, where in the past you could get out of that. We’ve got to make sure we do our research. The new year fifth-year option, you’ve just got to be smart and convicted if you are going to do it.”
Though the Bills are set at quarterback, Schoen said he started his homework on projected first-round quarterback prospects in his role as assistant general manager in preparation for leading his own team. The Giants hope that research isn’t necessary.
“I have a lot of hope in Daniel,” Mara said. “I know how badly he wants it. I know how the players feel about him. We are certainly not giving up on him by any stretch of the imagination.”