Giants GM makes telling comment about Daniel Jones' injury guarantee

Almost immediately after the New York Giants signed backup quarterback Drew Lock this past March, a plethora of individuals pointed out that the Giants could play Lock over starter Daniel Jones this coming fall because of the nature of the four-year contract Jones signed in March 2023.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen said plenty by what he didn't say in response to a question about the injury guarantee attached to Jones' deal on Wednesday.

"We’re going to go day by day," Schoen said about Jones' status, per Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "We’ve got to see how this knee is going to react. He hasn’t been full go. So those are conversations [for] way down the road. Hopefully, he can stay healthy. I’m rooting for the kid."

Jones is coming off the torn ACL in his right knee he suffered on Nov. 5 of last year and he has also dealt with a pair of worrisome neck-related problems since the 2021 campaign. He took all the first-team reps during Wednesday's practice and seems on track to start New York's regular-season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 8, but his future beyond that is very much up in the air.

The Giants can escape Jones' contract next offseason and the "Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants" program that has been airing this summer confirmed that Schoen had serious interest in moving up from No. 6 overall to No. 3 in the 2024 draft order to acquire North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye. Per Jordan Raanan of ESPN, the New England Patriots never came "close" to trading the draft's third choice they used to take Maye, though.

The Giants later spent the sixth selection on LSU Tigers wide receiver Malik Nabers.

According to Slater and others, $23M of Jones' $30M salary for 2025 is guaranteed against injury and would be owed to him if a serious setback kept the signal-caller from passing a physical when the new league year opens. In short, Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll could have millions upon millions of reasons to bench a healthy Jones if the Giants are essentially playoff pretenders instead of postseason contenders in December.

"We need better in 2024," Schoen said about his expectations for Jones after the 27-year-old played poorly when healthy last season. Even if Jones gives the Giants "better," it may not be enough to guarantee him a job with the organization past the upcoming campaign.