4 Daniel Jones replacements the Giants wouldn’t have to draft in 2025

Daniel Jones is a bad NFL quarterback. That's not even an overreaction anymore it's just a plain fact.

His 2022 season is now a statistical outlier and the other four seasons (albeit one shortened due to injury) are indicative of the real Daniel Jones, and fans are fed up.

12,698 career yards isn't terrible but his touchdown to interception ratio (62 TDs, 42 INTs) is just unacceptable for someone not named Eli Manning.

The fact that ESPN's Adam Schefter has to report that Jones will be the Week 2 starter shows that even New York is running damage control after just a single regular season outing.

New York will definitely be looking to replace Jones in 2025 (if general manager Joe Schoen still has a job) but if there aren't any Week 1-ready quarterbacks available in the Draft, the front office will have to turn to trades and free agency to find a band-aid option.

Giants' options to replace Daniel Jones outside the raft are thin

Russell Wilson or Justin Fields

Whichever quarterback Pittsburgh is willing to part ways with (but based on Week 1, Wilson could be the one trying to get out). Either Wilson or Fields would be serviceable for New York over the course of a season of two where it needs to develop a rookie drafted next April.

According to reports at the time, New York tried to trade with Seattle for Wilson in 2022 but ultimately the Super Bowl XLVIII champion desired Denver. Wilson is a free agent after this season so if he feels spurned by Pittsburgh, then the Big Apple could be an attractive option with young receivers. Fields still has another year on this deal so it would require another trade to get him off the books. With the ex-Bears passer being much younger, he probably isn't going anywhere.

Ryan Tannehill

The ex-Titans passer is currently a free agent with links to teams like Green Bay who could need an emergency option due to injuries. But Tannehill, for as much money as he's commanded in the past, will likely require a team where he will start. New York could provide him that one or two-year deal to start and develop a rookie behind him.

Tannehill hasn't had a winning record as a starter since 2021 but his passing accuracy has been much higher than Jones. Even that kind of improvement under center could be enough for New York to make some sort of progress with young receivers.

Jameis Winston

The ex-Buccaneers and Saints passer could get his redemptive moment in Cleveland if current starter Deshaun Watson can't turn things around. Even if Winston has marginal success, it's not like Cleveland can just bench Watson next season let alone cut him with that monster contract still on the books.

Winston would be a free agent after next season so if the Giants wanted to make a trade for a rental quarterback with halfway decent numbers, he could be the guy. However, it could cost a pretty penny in draft picks given Cleveland is still trying to recoup what it lost in the lopsided trade with Houston that landed Watson on the shores of Lake Erie in 2022.

Michael Penix Jr.

Hear me out, this could work. New York would have to play its cards perfectly (and employ the help of an unlikely ally) to pull it off. Imagine, if you will, draft night 2025 -- New York has a top-three pick and it's on the clock. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was already selected by Carolina No. 1 overall. Reports have been swirling that New York might select Colorado passer Shedeur Sanders despite his father loudly declaring the Big Apple is too cold for his son to play in and it won't happen.

New York selects Sanders anyway and a repeat of the 1983 and 2004 drafts commences with the Giants negotiating with suitors. One team New York should tempt is Atlanta. The Kirk Cousins experiment could be doomed to fail and Atlanta is one of Deion's former teams. What better way to go full circle than to send Shedeur to Atlanta in exchange for Penix and multiple pick swaps? It could happen.