Giants QB Daniel Jones dishes out on Hard Knocks feature: "Didn’t enjoy watching that"
The New York Giants were featured on HBO's Hard Knocks: Offseason and quarterback Daniel Jones wasn't a fan. As the five-episode series concluded on July 30, Jones spoke to GoLongTD.com's Tyler Dunne and opened up on his opinion of the series.
The episodes chronicled the Giants' off-season moves, such as departures and additions in free agency and their draft plans. The series revealed that the Giants were potentially looking for Jones' replacement in the draft, but nothing came to fruition. Seeing that detail, Jones didn't like watching it.
"I’m very motivated by this and by being as good a player as I can be," Jones said. "Definitely didn’t enjoy watching that and it was a tough situation in a lot of ways, but that’s the reality of the NFL. My job is to be on the field and play good football. So that’s something I’ve got to understand and it is what it is at this point. It’s about playing the game and playing well now."
"Look obviously, there’s something inside of you that kind of gets going and it ticks you off a little bit to see. It’s not fun and not something that you’re excited about. Like I said, it is what it is at this point and it’s my job to play well regardless.”
The series showed the Giants' interest in quarterbacks and moving up. They phoned the New England Patriots about trading up for quarterback Drake Maye, but the Patriots weren't interested. They drafted Maye at three, while the New York Giants selected wide receiver Malik Nabers.
The New York Giants could move on from Daniel Jones after this season
While Daniel Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension before the 2023 season, it is a two-year contract they can get out of after this season. Of his $160 million, only $82 million is fully guaranteed, with $12 million more in "practical" guarantees.
If the Giants released Jones before the start of the 2024 season, they would only have a $22 million dead cap hit, which they'd very likely accept if Jones doesn't play well this season.
If Jones plays well for the Giants this season and leads them to the playoffs like he did two seasons ago, they could decide to keep him under contract for the 2025 season. If not, they would be ready to pull the trigger on drafting a quarterback next year.
What do you think will happen with Daniel Jones next season?