NFL rumor roundup: Cowboys finalize staff, Saints creating cap space, Daniel Jones contract

Daniel Jones does, indeed, want a ridiculous sum of money

Jeremy Fowler on NFL Live said that the $45 million number Daniel Jones wants for his next contract that has leaked is, in fact, real, despite other reporters suggesting it was leaked by his former agency to make him look bad.

“I do believe it’s real. I know some teams believe it’s real,” Fowler said.

Fowler went on to explain there were some reasons behind that, and they actually make some sense. He said that Jones could be looking at the quarterback market and the several players on rookie deals that are about to reset the QB market in big ways.

Pretty soon, $45 million is going to be a realistic rate for a quarterback in the 10-to-15 range of the NFL’s starters.

Whatever team inks Jones to a $45 million deal, if it happens, could look like the Vikings and Kirk Cousins a few years from now. When Minnesota signed Cousins to a deal with an AAV of around $35 million, they looked wild. Now, the market has far surpassed that and it’s a fine deal.

Fowler went on to suggest as well that Jones did a lot for the Giants last season with few weapons. That’s relatively true. The Giants did not have a receiver top 800 yards last year and the team’s second-highest player in rushing yards was Jones himself with 708 yards.

Jones and running back Saquon Barkley’s rushing yards combined were responsible themselves for 42.34% of the team’s total yards.

It’s almost a sure thing that the Giants will be moving on from one of those players this offseason, as they are both free agents and likely to command a pretty penny.