The smoke has cleared and the ink has dried. The New York Giants were able to sign Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal on Tuesday, effectively locking in their franchise quarterback for years to come.
The new contract was required to keep Jones in tow after the team previously declined his fifth-year option, which, in hindsight, is something general manager Joe Schoen wished he hadn’t done.
“If I thought I was going to be here a year ago I would have done that fifth-year option,” Schoen told reporters on Wednesday.
The decision to decline Jones’ fifth-year option was the right one at the time but it also carried a risk. In the end, DJ benefitted from that decision while the Giants most certainly did not.
In the end, Jones landed his desired $40 million AAV and the Giants were forced to pay up a year early. But despite losing that gamble, Schoen is excited about what the future holds.
“There are a lot of positives a 25-year-old man displayed throughout the season,” Schoen said. “If he’s just at his floor right now, I’m real excited about what his ceiling is going to be.”
Jones made tremendous strides in 2022, leading the Giants to their first playoff win since Super Bowl XLVI. And he did it with a below-average offensive line and a lackluster supporting cast. The future appears bright.
Just how bright? Schoen believes Jones can help the Giants win a Super Bowl.
“Yes,” Schoen said point-blank when asked if Jones could win it all.
Now the pressure is on Jones to prove his GM correct, live up to his potential, and see to it that the Giants receive a return on their investment by way of a Super Bowl title. The bar has been set.
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