Giants delay on Daniel Jones option decision is very telling

As fifth-year options get picked up around the league this week, the Giants delaying their decision on Daniel Jones is very telling.

Deadlines drive action, and with that in mind NFL teams are picking up fifth-year options on 2019 first-round picks this week ahead of the May 2 deadline.

The New York Giants are facing that decision on quarterback Daniel Jones, and according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini they will meet again Thursday to discuss picking up the young signal caller’s fifth-year option.

Russini’s broader report indicated the Giants’ draft board is set, with general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll set to present it to ownership on Wednesday. Then the final meeting regarding Jones will come Thursday, with a decision on the fifth-year option.

Jones was drafted sixth-overall by the Giants in 2019. He’d be set to make $22.4 million in 2023 on the fifth-year option. It’s incredibly unlikely, but the Giants could forego the fifth-year option now and end up deciding to franchise tag Jones next March at a cost of close to $9 million more.

Giants’ delaying option decision on Daniel Jones is incredibly telling

Jones has made 37 starts for the Giants over three seasons, with a 62.8 percent completion rate, 45 touchdown passes, 29 interceptions and an 84.3 passer rating. A neck injury cost him the final six games last season, and for what it’s worth he completed a career-best 64.3 percent of his passes while being sacked a career-low rate (5.7 percent) in the 11 games he played. He is expected to be fully cleared from the neck injury fairly soon.

The Giants have two top-10 picks on Thursday night (No. 5 and No. 7). It’s possible, however unlikely with bigger immediate needs to address, that they have a quarterback ranked highly enough on their board to consider him with one of those picks. A trade down could open the door for a signal caller a bit later in the first round too. If nothing else, a quarterback could be added in a later round with an eye on the future.

If the Giants wanted to lock in Jones at more than $22 million fully guaranteed for 2023, it’s safe to assume they would have done it by now. Even with a few days left before the deadline to do it. So there’s real doubt in the building, as there should be, and the new general manager and head coach have no ties to him.

Come Thursday, in the hours before the draft starts, signs point to the Giants announcing they will not pick up Jones’ fifth-year option. And with that, the odds he’s on another team in 2023 will increase dramatically.