Daniel Jones’ season is over after an MRI exam confirmed he tore the ACL in his right knee on Sunday.
The Post’s Paul Schwartz answers some of the questions his injury creates:
Q: When will Daniel Jones be ready to play?
A: The timeline of it taking one full year to recover from ACL surgery is not valid any longer. Receiver Wan’Dale Robinson tore his ACL on Nov. 20 last year, missed the remainder of his rookie season, went through the typical months of rehab and was cleared to return to practice on Aug. 29. He played in Week 3. Another receiver, Sterling Shepard, tore his ACL in Week 3 last season and was ready for this year’s season opener. Different players, different bodies, different positions. The standard recovery span is 8-9 months. Jones should be able to play all or most of the 2024 season, as long as everything goes well with his surgery and his recovery.
Q: In Jones finished with the Giants?
A: Those predicting that Jones will never throw another pass for the Giants might want to store those prognostications in the overhead compartment. There is a salary cap and ramifications for cutting a high-priced player and no one has forgotten that the Giants last March gave Jones a four-year contract worth $160 million. His cap number for 2024 is $47.5 million, and if the Giants decide to cut ties with him after the season — they will not do that, for several reasons — the dead money hit would be $69 million.
That is … untenable. The four-year deal contained an “out’’ after two seasons but even then, if the Giants parted ways with Jones after the 2024 season, he could count $22 million in dead cap money in 2025. That would be a Giants record. Contracts have consequences. Jones will be on the team in 2024.
Q: Will Jones be the starting quarterback in 2024?
A: Just as Jones will be back, it is inconceivable that the Giants will await his return to health without significantly upgrading the position. First of all, he will be coming off a major injury. Secondly, he was an ineffective quarterback this season, playing one outstanding half of football in Arizona and not much else to get excited about. Plus, he missed three games with a neck injury, the second time in three seasons he missed time with a neck issue. Availability is a talent and Jones is not available enough.
As it stands today, the Giants would own a top-five pick in the 2024 draft and they have two second-round picks if they want to create a package to move up. They need help everywhere. They thought they were out of the quarterback procurement business and now they get dragged back in, having to think about Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and maybe Shedeur Sanders because Jones’ season unraveled so painfully and completely.
Would the Giants actually use a high first-round pick on a quarterback, with Jones financially obligated to the team for at least another year? Everything must be on the table and this must be considered.
Q: What about the rest of this season?
A: Will the Giants win another game if Tommy DeVito is their starter the rest of the way? DeVito is earning an NFL paycheck and thus analyzing his performance is fair game. But this was not the plan for him and ripping him is not the answer
. He was undrafted and made a nice story for himself, a local Jersey guy who hooked on the practice squad with his hometown team. He was not supposed to play. Maybe the more experienced Matt Barkley gets a shot.
Q: What about Tyrod Taylor?
A: Taylor is on injured reserve and must miss at least the next three games. He is dealing with a rib cage injury and the pain and soreness were considerable. He most likely will be able to return at some point. The long-awaited bye finally arrives in Week 13.
Before then, the Giants have the Cowboys, Commanders and Patriots and return after the bye to face the Packers on Dec. 11 in a “Monday Night Football’’ matchup that is screaming “Flex me the hell out of there.’’
Perhaps Taylor could be back for the last five games — although coach Brian Daboll on Monday was noncommittal on that. What does it matter, you ask? Well, Taylor should be able to compete at a high enough level to give the Giants a fighting chance in some of these games.
Read more
