Giants head coach Brian Daboll’s decision to bench Jones came with little surprise. Mired in a 2-8 campaign with an offense ranked last in the NFL in scoring (15.6 points per game), the writing was on the wall for Jones. However, the hefty $160 million contract he was playing under might have compelled the team’s fateful decision to drag on longer than most comparable situations.
Daboll finally decided to make the change during the team’s bye week and after a disappointing Week 10 performance from Jones, whose persistent struggles in the passing game resulted in an overtime loss to the two-win Panthers on a big stage in Munich.
Jones, who threw two interceptions and zero touchdowns in the loss, admitted there was a looming sense of worry when asked if he was surprised about his benching.
“It’s maybe a little bit in the back of your mind, but I was still kind of focused on what I needed to do to prepare and to play that game,” Jones said. “Obviously after the game, you’re just disappointed and you’re reviewing what happened.”
The biggest surprise of Jones’ demotion was the QB depth chart announced by Daboll on Tuesday. Tommy DeVito — not veteran Drew Lock, who was inked this offseason to back up Jones — was named the Giants’ starter. Jones is slated to go forward as the third-stringer with Lock remaining as the team’s primary backup. The Giants have also since added a QB to the room, signing Tim Boyle to the practice squad.
During Thursday’s practice, Jones was seen completely out of the QB picture at one point, spending part of the open portion wearing a red scout-team jersey while lined up at safety during an offensive install period, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan.
It was a clear sign of New York beginning its transition out of the Jones era. When asked if he plans to be with the Giants the rest of this season, Jones maintained that while he’s processing that scenario, he wants to be helpful for DeVito as the second-year QB readies himself for his seventh career start on Sunday against the Buccaneers.
“I think I’m still kind of processing, and for now, I’m doing the best I can to help Tommy prepare, help the team prepare,” Jones said. “That’s what I’m gonna do right now. So, processing that. I think, obviously, a decision was made, and [I’m] not playing. So I think that’s what that was framed as.”