The Giants hired Joe Schoen to be their general manager back in January of 2022. One of his first big decisions involved quarterback Daniel Jones’ fifth-year contract option. New York decided not to exercise it, which was seen as a sound move by virtually everyone who had an opinion.
But here we are in Week 16. The Giants don’t have many explosive playmakers on offense outside of Saquon Barkley. Yet, Jones has played well in helping put Big Blue in a position to clinch an improbable playoff berth on Christmas Eve in Minnesota. His 2,694 passing yards are less than 400 yards away from a new career high. His 66% completion percentage and 90.5 Quarterback Rating are on track to be new career-high marks.
Jones has thrown just 12 touchdowns but has paired that with only four interceptions and five fumbles. He’s also added another five scores on the ground to go along with 583 rushing yards. Now, Schoen and Co. probably wish they did exercise that option.
The play of both Barkley and Jones is putting the Giants in an interesting situation if they’d like to retain both. New York had initial contract conversations with Barkley’s camp during the bye week. So, you’d have to imagine the Giants prefer to sign the running back to a multi-year deal and potentially save their franchise tag for Jones.
We don’t officially know what the franchise tag amounts for the 2023 season are yet. However, it’s currently projected to be a little more than $32 million for quarterbacks. But if things were to change and New York pivoted to a short-term multi-year deal with Jones instead, what could that look like?
Spotrac pins the signal-caller’s market value on an average annual value basis at $25.5 million. This also includes a contract term of three years. If either this or the franchise tag amount is even close to what Jones eventually gets from the Giants (or elsewhere) for next season, it’ll be a huge raise.
His current average annual value is just over $6.4 million. That ranks 322nd in the NFL and 29th among quarterbacks. Using that $25.5 million average value as a guide, he’d jump to the NFL’s 22nd-highest salary and 15th among quarterbacks.
This was the definition of a prove-it year for Jones. It won’t end with him landing a huge long-term deal this offseason. However, he’s at least given himself a chance to earn a handsome raise while continuing to build his value with Big Blue.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
