Reporter shares big update on future of Giants' Daniel Jones

Those assuming New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are already dreaming about using a high draft pick next spring to select a replacement for quarterback Daniel Jones may want to pump the brakes a little bit. 

NFC East reporter Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports revealed on Monday that "it's far from guaranteed that the Giants would actually" draft either USC Trojans signal-caller Caleb Williams or Drake Maye of the North Carolina Tar Heels with a top-two selection. 

"According to multiple sources, including one inside the Giants, some key people in the organization still have faith in Jones and believe their 26-year-old franchise quarterback can still be their long-term answer," Vacchiano explained. 

Vacchiano added that a team source said nobody inside the Giants "has given up on" Jones yet. 

Neither Schoen nor Daboll was with the Giants when the organization laned Jones via the sixth overall choice of the 2019 draft, but the executive ultimately signed the fifth-year pro to a four-year contract in March reportedly worth up to $160M. That deal should keep Jones with the Giants through at least next season regardless of other moves Schoen makes during the upcoming offseason. 

Jones missed the final six games of the 2021 campaign because of a neck injury, was sidelined for three contests this fall due to what's been referred to as a different kind of neck problem and suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Nov. 5. It's hoped Jones will be good to go for Week 1 next September, but it's also far too early to say how he'll recover from surgery. 

Jones' offensive line routinely betrayed him over the years, and one NFC scout noted to Vacchiano that Jones "was getting battered" before his latest setback. 

"He had no time to run an offense before the rush was in his face," the scout added about Jones. "He didn't look good. I'm not excusing him. But he didn't have much of a chance. And I think they know that."

According to ESPN stats, Jones ended Week 10 ranked 27th in the NFL among qualified players with a 37.9 adjusted QBR on the season. He tossed two touchdown passes and six interceptions across fewer than six completed games. 

While it was recently reported that both Schoen and Daboll are considered safe, the 2-8 Giants were non-competitive over their past two contests and seem to be a dysfunctional mess outside of just losing games. 

Whispers suggesting Giants co-owner John Mara could blow things up in January will only grow louder if the team suffers seven more embarrassing defeats, and a new regime probably would want/demand the right to choose its own quarterback of the future.