One Giants player sounds like he wasn’t on board with Daniel Jones benching

The New York Giants made the all-important decision to bench quarterback Daniel Jones as the team exits its bye week. However, that decision appears to be a slightly controversial one inside the locker room.

Per multiple reports, defensive captain Dexter Lawrence Jr. said head coach Brian Daboll's announcement of the news to the team was met with "a little bit of confusion."

"You don’t know their full thoughts behind it,” Lawrence told the New York Post on Tuesday. “I think we trust the coaches and where they’re going and where they think we can go. That’s what you have to do. You have to be naïve and trust the process. You think about the wrong s–t and then you start playing like s–t.”

Jones will be replaced by third-string passer Tommy DeVito in the team's Week 12 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be his seventh career start after he went 3-3 last season in place of the injured Jones and then-backup Tyrod Taylor.

Dexter Lawrence respects decision to bench Daniel Jones but doesn't like it one bit

Lawrence said he has "a lot of respect for" DeVito but thinks Jones' benching was "tough."

"I can’t control it. They made the decision based off their evaluations, and thoughts and feelings," he continued. "You’ve got to respect it as a player even though you don’t like it. As a player, you have to keep playing. As a human and as a brother, I feel for him."

Jones and Lawrence were both drafted by New York in 2019 and have been two of the longest-tenured Giants since then.

But Jones became an easy target for fans having only one winning season with the Duke product under center at MetLife Stadium, so naturally Lawrence feels a little defensive.

"Teams lose games, not just one player,” Lawrence said. “That should be understood."

It feels likely Jones' days in New York are coming to a close as similar moves by the Denver Broncos with Russell Wilson and the Las Vegas Raiders with Jimmy Garoppolo in recent years have signaled the end of those passers' times with their respective teams.

It's seemingly the end of a conflicting era for the Giants locker room and fans, but Lawrence understands it's business and nothing personal. That doesn't change how he feels about it, however.

"He’s the QB1. To me, the best quarterback on the team,” Lawrence said. “But they see things differently. I guess that’s all that matters.