Daniel Jones feeling even more pressure amid Giants' 'Hard Knocks' appearance

From the moment Daniel Jones became a New York Giant, he had to have known that things wouldn’t be easy. Not only was he expected to be a franchise quarterback who would help lead the team to greatness again, eventually he would be taking over for two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning.

That replacement happened probably a lot sooner than expected. After a lackluster two games to start the 2019 season, Manning was benched. What happened next is the stuff of sappy sports movies: Jones was named the starter and won his next two games, throwing for 561 total yards and accounting for five touchdowns. While the legend of Danny Dimes was born, it didn’t exactly have a Hollywood ending. With Jones at the helm, the Giants lost their next eight games, and the starting job went back (temporarily) to Manning.

In his first three seasons, Jones showed both why the Giants decided to take him sixth in the draft and why it may have been a big mistake, sometimes in the same game. He threw for 45 touchdowns but racked up 29 interceptions. The Giants’ record with him as the starter was an ugly 12-25.

It was his fourth season in which he threw a career-high 3,205 yards and a career-low five interceptions — plus had a wild-card win over the Minnesota Vikings — when it looked as if the real Danny Dimes had finally arrived. Again, however, the celebration was short-lived, as Jones returned to poor form to start the next season and missed several games with injuries.

After flirting with the idea of bringing in Russell Wilson or drafting a quarterback this offseason, the Giants now seem committed to Jones. This doesn’t mean, however, that if he has another bad or injury-plagued season that all will be forgiven. In fact, Giants GM Joe Schoen has made it clear that 2024 is a make-or-break year for Jones.

“This is the year for Daniel,” he said during the first episode of "Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants." “Plan all along was [to] give him a couple years. Is he our guy for the next 10 years? Or do we need to pivot and find somebody else?”

A recurring theme in the episode was Jones’ salary, which, Schoen says, was a major reason why the team decided not to put the franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley, who ended up with the Eagles.

“You're paying the guy $40 million,” Schoen said. “It's not to hand the ball off to a $12 million back.”

Schoen also added that he’s not giving up on Jones and emphasized that he’s under contract for three more seasons. While that’s true, the Giants could decide to cut him after this season, which would allow them to recoup $19.4 million in cap savings .

While he may not be watching "Hard Knocks," Jones has to be aware of the pressure he’s under this season, not just from the Giants brass, but from fans and the media as well. The question then becomes does he wilt under the strain or does Danny Dimes ride to the rescue?