Robert Griffin III delivers depressing message to Giants fans regarding odds of landing CJ Stroud-level replacement for Daniel Jones in 2024 NFL Draft
Daniel Jones suffered an ACL tear on Sunday and his 2023 season is now over. 2022 was a dream for Giants fans but 2023 has been a nightmare with injuries and losing in epic fashion, a seemingly weekly event. Most teams in the Giants' situation at least have the NFL Draft to look forward to.
However, most fans won't like what Robert Griffin III had to say on Get Up about it being an earth-shattering draft. Here's how he put it on Tuesday:
"[00:04:22] It's not the popular thing to say, but you don't pay a quarterback $40 million and then go draft a quarterback in the first round the next year. I don't care how you feel about Daniel Jones. At the end of day, he tore his ACL and they have to give him time to come back and make plays for them."
Griffin went on, naming the offensive line as the most likely first priority of the Giants in the 2024 NFL Draft:
"I didn't think they should have paid him 40 million. He got his money. If you're talking about organizational decisions that are going to help your team in the long run, you don't go draft a quarterback in the first round when you have so many holes on your offensive line and the rest of your team moving forward. [00:04:50]"
How long could Daniel Jones play for New York Giants?
In other words, not only are they set to skip quarterback, but they're also set to skip other exciting additions like a wide receiver or an all-star pass rusher. That would not have been the case had the team not declined Daniel Jones' fifth-year option ahead of the 2022 season.
Had they taken it, they would now be counting down on turning the page into the second era removed from Eli Manning.
Instead, based on a series of unfortunate events, Saquon Barkley's team is on a trajectory to suffer the same fate in 2023 as in 2024.
Additionally, with Kyler Murray's ACL injury recovery timeline acting as a precedent, Jones could miss a significant chunk of the 2024 season as well. Murray injured his ACL in December of 2022 and is still not back in the lineup nearly a full year later.
Per Spotrac, Jones' current deal runs through the 2026 season, with the first potential out-year coming in 2025 unless the Giants want to sink suitcases full of cash on the quarterback.