Examining Giants’ Options at Quarterback

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, head coach Brian Daboll confirmed on Monday.

Jones, who was making his return after missing three games with a neck injury, left in the first half of Sunday’s 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The fifth-year QB suffered a noncontact knee injury after taking just 21 snaps. An MRI confirmed the Giants’ fears that their starting QB will miss the remainder of the season.

“I just saw him for 30 seconds here before I came into this press conference,” Daboll told reporters on Monday. “He was having a meeting with the doctors. Just interrupted, he told me what it was. I gave him a hug.”

Jones finishes the 2023 season with just two passing touchdowns and six interceptions in six games. The 26-year-old signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Giants in March after leading them to the playoffs last season.

But now the future of the franchise is in question. Jones’ injury may be the last push the 2-7 Giants needed to select a quarterback—perhaps USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye—depending on their 2024 draft slot.

Before all that, though, there are still games to be played. And now the injury-ridden Giants are down their top QB again. Daboll told reporters that he would meet with general manager Joe Schoen later on Monday to evaluate what the team will do at the position with Jones out.

Here’s the state of New York’s quarterback room after Jones’ season-ending injury.

DeVito Could Get First NFL Start

The Giants are now without their top two quarterbacks.

Backup QB Tyrod Taylor started for the Giants while Jones was working his way back from his neck injury. But Taylor suffered a rib injury in an overtime loss to the New York Jets last week and has since been placed on injured reserve. Daboll said Monday that he is unsure if Taylor will be healthy enough to see the field again this season.

Tommy DeVito played the rest of the game at quarterback for the Giants against the Raiders. The undrafted rookie went 15-of-20 passing for 175 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in his second NFL game. This came a week after DeVito saw his first professional action, when he finished with minus-one passing yards and scored a rushing touchdown in relief of Taylor.

If DeVito were to make his first NFL start in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys—a team that beat the Giants 40-0 in the season-opener—he would be the 10th rookie signal-caller to start this season, setting a single-season record.

The only other healthy quarterback in the building for the Giants at the moment is Matt Barkley. The 33-year-old, who last started a game in 2018, was signed to the Giants’ practice squad last week. Barkley previously spent three seasons under Daboll when the Giants coach was the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills. The 2013 fourth-round pick has thrown 11 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in 19 career games.

Free Agent QB Options for Giants

Saquon Barkley, Andrew Thomas and Darren Waller are among the many standout Giants players to miss time with injuries this season. And Jones’ torn ACL is another major hit to the Giants during a season that just keeps going from bad to worse.

“The first emotion is just devastation,” Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton said Monday of Jones’ injury. “We all work extremely hard to make the best out of the 17 opportunities we get every year to play the game we love. Having that slip away is not easy for any of us to deal with. He’s a very resilient person, a very strong individual. But he’s also not alone in this. We’ll have his back and support him and be with him through this process.”

Added Thomas: “It’s devastating. One of my teammates, one of my good friends. It sucks to hear news like that with injuries like that.”

The Giants have eight regular-season contests remaining, including three before their bye week. If neither DeVito nor Barkley turn out to be viable solutions to New York’s QB problem the rest of the season, here are three free agents the franchise could turn to:

Carson Wentz: The former No. 2 overall draft pick has already played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, so why not join a third NFC East team. Wentz, a former Pro Bowler and MVP candidate, remains a free agent after spending the last three seasons with three franchises. The 30-year-old went 2-5 in seven games as Washington’s starter last season, throwing for 1,755 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine picks.

Colt McCoy: A QB who has prior experience filling in for an injured Jones is still on the free-agent market. McCoy, who entered the league in 2010 and has started games for four teams, got the nod under center twice with the Giants in 2020. He threw for 375 yards, a touchdown and an interception in four appearances that season. The 37-year-old spent the last two years with the Arizona Cardinals but was cut before the season.

Joe Flacco: The longtime starter for the Baltimore Ravens is still in need of a home. Flacco spent three seasons with the New York Jets from 2020-22, starting four games for last season, though was not re-signed ahead of the 2023 campaign. The 38-year-old former Super Bowl champion completed 57.6 percent of his passes a season ago and threw five touchdowns compared to three interceptions.