The Giants elected to decline Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option just before the NFL Draft, and general manager Joe Schoen told Carton and Roberts on Wednesday that it was a universal decision by the team’s football operations.
“Everybody was in lockstep with the decision,” Schoen said. “We discussed it. But again, Daniel was the focus of the offseason. It was ‘Hey, how can we give this kid the best chance?’”
Schoen said co-owner John Mara was adamant in private like he has been in public that the team hasn’t succeeded in putting Jones in a winning situation, and the focus this offseason has been to rectify that recurring mistake.
“John has been vocal about ‘Daniel’s been through a couple head coaches, several offensive coordinators, there’s been injuries, and the offensive line,’ so it was a conscious effort on our part to build the offensive line,” Schoen said. “That along with Wan’Dale Robinson, Kadarius Toney…[Kenny] Golloday year two, and Saquon [Barkley]. If Daniel can stay on his feet, I think there’s enough weapon on the team that we can be a competitive team and win games and get our best version of Daniel Jones, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Schoen also reiterated that even though they declined Jones’ option, it doesn’t mean the team is already envisioning a future without the sixth overall pick. This season will be a crucial one for Jones, but his time with Big Blue isn’t guaranteed to be nearing an end.
“We had until May 2. Twenty two million dollars, that’s a serious investment in anything,” Schoen said. “You want to get around him as much as we can. We wanted to watch film and get around the kid, and we love Daniel Jones. It’s not an indictment on how we feel about him or if we feel any different. He’s in here all the time and working hard…we want a chance to work with him and go through a season.
“We’re looking forward to working with him. If he goes out and balls out, we still have a franchise tag we can put on him or you enter contract negotiations and an extension. Those are our options moving forward.”
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