Evan: Giants heading toward tough Daniel Jones decision due to contract stipulation

As drama swirls around Jets minicamp with the absences of Aaron Rodgers and Haason Reddick, Evan says there is a potential controversy surrounding the Giants that nobody seems to be talking about.

It involved Daniel Jones and the nature of his contract.

“Daniel Jones has a contract that is very similar to a lot of other modern quarterback contracts, to where his deal could become almost fully guaranteed if he gets injured this season,” Evan said. “There are injury protections around him.

“Next year, Daniel Jones is due to make $30 million. We’ve all assumed that if he doesn’t have a good year, he’s gone, they cut him, they make the decision five days before the league year starts, and barely have to pay him anything…but if he gets hurt and cannot pass his physical in the middle of March, $23 of the $30 million he would be owed that year become fully guaranteed.”

Jones indeed does have $23 million guaranteed for injury in 2025, meaning that if he cannot pass a physical come March, which could have happened this year given his ACL injury, the Giants will be on the hook for much more money to pay Jones. So, the dilemma for the Giants will be how long they will play Jones until it’s time to bench him and ensure that they are not stuck with paying him more money, especially if the team plans on replacing him in 2025 anyway.

“We have seen the Broncos [Russell Wilson] and Raiders [Derek Carr] purposely bench quarterbacks toward the end of the season for this very reason,” Evan said. “So, this is gonna happen.”