Daniel Jones has played his final snap of the season, and it is unknown when — or if — he will take another for the Giants.
An MRI confirmed Monday that Jones suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee, head coach Brian Daboll announced.
In his first game back from a three-game absence due to a neck injury, Jones crumpled to the ground Sunday without being touched on back-to-back snaps, which were separated by a television timeout that allowed him to try jogging off his knee pain on the sideline.
“In those moments as a player, obviously the [worst-case scenario] thought goes through your head and the first emotion is devastation,” receiver Darius Slayton said. “He is a very resilient person, a very strong individual, but he’s also not alone in this: We’ll have his back and be with him through this process.”
Jones will undergo surgery on a to-be-determined date. It is unclear if Jones suffered any damage to the MCL or meniscus, as can happen with ACL injuries.
“I gave him a hug, and that’s my extent of it right now,” Daboll said. “My focus is on just being there for the young man. I know he’ll do everything he can do to get back ready to play.”
In the short term, the Giants have eight more games to play, including at least the next three without veteran backup Tyrod Taylor, who made three starts this season but is on injured reserve (rib cage).
Daboll did not commit to Taylor definitely returning this season.
So, the quarterbacks are undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito and journeyman Matt Barkley, who signed last week to the practice squad.
DeVito played the bulk of the last two games in relief of Taylor (13-10 loss the Jets) and Jones (30-6 loss the Raiders).
General manager Joe Schoen could add another free-agent option but the trade deadline has passed.
“I think Tommy did a good job, but I’m not going to give you one thing and it’s a different thing,” Daboll said when asked if DeVito becomes the next starter. “I have confidence in Tommy. But I’ll sit down and talk with Joe and figure out what’s next.”
In the long term, Jones’ future is muddied, especially with the specter of USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye looming atop the 2024 draft.
Jones, 26, is nine games into a four-year, $160 million extension that includes a guaranteed $35.5 million salary as part of his $47.1 million salary-cap charge in 2024.
But there are durability concerns attached to Jones’ two separate neck injuries and now the ACL after he told trainers that he was “good” to go back in the game.
The Giants could be picking at the top of the draft because there is little reason to believe they will finish much better than 2-15 on the season.
And Jones’ contract allows a manageable two-year out for a $22.2 million dead-cap charge in 2025.
While that number would represent the biggest dead-cap charge in franchise history — overtaking the amount tied to the Odell Beckham Jr. trade in 2019 — Jones’ dead cap plus a second-year cap hit for a drafted quarterback on a scaled contract still would be less than Jones’ figure of $41.6 million in 2025.
Slayton — who has been Jones’ leading receiver in three of their first four seasons — is one of Jones’ biggest defenders.
Jones’ injury is “a bit personal” to his 2019 draft classmate.
“Quite frankly, people have been trying to get myself and him and multiple others out of here since we’ve been here,” Slayton said. “It hasn’t stopped us before. It won’t stop us now. He’s a good football player, and he’ll be back healthy again one day, and he’ll be back playing pro football somewhere — hopefully here. And I look forward to that day.”
Jones will finish the season with two touchdowns and six interceptions in six starts (1-5).
It is no certainty that he will be ready to play Week 1 of next season after a 10-month rehab when his scrambling style of play must be taken into account.
“It’s devastating,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “It sucks to hear news like that, with stuff that you can’t control. I’m doing my best to try to uplift him during this situation, help him out and wish him the best with the recovery.”
