Daniel Jones wasn't a fan of seeing Giants trying to draft replacement on Hard Knocks

The NFL is a business, which means front offices are burdened with the impossible task of managing egos and sentimentality, while also making cold, rational business decisions. We have seen, across sports, how ugly it can get when a star player feels disrespected. Especially when that disrespect becomes public.

Well, that's where Hard Knocks becomes something of a challenge for teams to navigate. On one hand, it's great for us, the viewers at home, to gain first-hand knowledge of how front offices and coaching staffs operate. It's fascinating to watch the scouts go to dinner, or to see how Joe Schoen flubbed the Saquon Barkley negotiations.

It's less fun for those on the team. There is an inherent and essential separation within NFL organizations. The front office interacts with players and coaches — it's a necessity of the job — but the front office only speaks freely in private, when deliberating on how to best position the roster moving forward (which invariably means upgrading certain positions).

For New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, watching those typically private conversations unfold on a television screen — more specifically, watching Joe Schoen and the front office actively try to trade up for Drake Maye, his would-be replacement — is frustrating. The 27-year-old, entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, spoke candidly to Tyler Dunne of Go Long.

"I’m very motivated by this and by being as good a player as I can be and it was a tough situation in a lot of ways, but that’s the reality of the NFL. My job is to be on the field and play good football. So that’s something I’ve got to understand and it is what it is at this point. It’s about playing the game and playing well now. . . . Look, obviously there’s something inside of you that kind of gets going and it ticks you off a little bit to see. It’s not fun and not something that you’re excited about. Like I said, it is what it is at this point and it’s my job to play well regardless."

Daniel Jones motivated by Giants' attempts to replace him this offseason

This shouldn't come as much of a shock to Jones. The Giants were discussed at length as a potential QB team leading up to the NFL Draft. For a while, it felt more like a matter of where the Giants would pick a quarterback, not if the Giants would pick a quarterback. Leapfrogging New England for Drake Maye was always a tall task, but J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix — all selected in the top 12 — were available when New York made its pick.

Ultimately, the Giants (correctly) opted for LSU wideout Malik Nabers. Instead of replacing Jones, the Giants added a supplementary piece who should, in theory, elevate Jones. New York's WR room has been a problem for pretty much the duration of Jones' tenure. It's hard to put absolute faith in a rookie, but Nabers is a nuclear talent and he's about to have a looooong runway for success in New York. The Giants are going to him early and often.

Jones' contract is non-guaranteed for 2025 and 2026 with cap hits of $41.6 million and $58.6 million, respectively. The QB market has ballooned in recent years, but that is still far above Jones' value. Last season was a front-to-back nightmare for the former No. 6 pick, who registered thrice as many interceptions (six) as touchdowns (two) before an ACL injury ended his season after six weeks.

There are few optimists on the Daniel Jones front these days. He earned his massive contract with a prolific 2022 campaign, during which Jones posted the best interception percentage in the NFL (1.1), but that feels like a blip on the radar more than a sustainable model at this point. Maybe Jones is able to channel his frustrations into production, but the quarterback is sledding on thin ice. He knows as well as anybody that, barring a remarkable comeback season, his contract is out the door and his replacement is on the docket.