The New York Giants have several quarterback questions, for now and for the future. And money has to be a big part of the equation for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

A sequence of events created an uncomfortable situation around the New York Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones. The first one happened in the 2022 offseason, when the new management led by Schoen declined the player's fifth-year option. It was a justifiable decision at the time, considering it wouldn't have been prudent to guarantee around $20 million for him after what he had shown.

However, Jones played better in 2022, and the Giants surprisingly reached the playoffs. That forced the management, to a certain degree, to find a way to keep him. The franchise tag would've been a good solution, but the team decided it was better to give Jones a long-term extension and use the tag on running back Saquon Barkley, to maintain the offensive infrastructure.

Current situation

Last offseason, Daniel Jones signed a four-year, $160 million extension. He was coming off a decent season, but it was much more related to the team's success. This year, his performance dropped, and the team results did too.

Daniel Jones PFF grades

• 2019: 65.5
• 2020: 78.4
• 2021: 71.1
• 2022: 76.0
• 2023: 63.0

And Jones suffered a serious ACL injury that will make him miss the rest of the season, which complicates his contract situation even more.

Contract terms

Daniel Jones got $46 million in 2023, including a $36 million signing bonus and then a $8.4 million restructure bonus to alleviate this year's cap hit. Those numbers are split throughout the four years of his deal.

The quarterback is slated to make $36 million in 2024 (most of it is guaranteed), $30.5 million in 2025 ($23 million of which are guaranteed for injury), and $47.5 million in 2026.

Considering the structure of his deal and how the Giants backloaded it to have more flexibility in 2023, there would be significant dead money if the Giants decided to trade or release Jones.

_{Dead money: a cap hit for a player that isn't on the roster anymore. It can happen if the team has already paid an amount of money to the player and it hasn't hit the cap yet, or future guarantees that haven't been paid.}

First, the Giants can't realistically cut Daniel Jones if he doesn't pass a physical. That would trigger his 2025 injury guarantees, creating $91.815 million in dead money.

If he does pass a physical, there would be $68.815 million in dead money — if the Giants apply a post-June 1st designation, it would be $46.605 million in 2024, and the remaining $22.21 million in 2025. It's feasible, but still a tough pill to swallow.

Trade

The best scenario if the Giants want to move on from Daniel Jones is trading him. Ideally, someone would be willing to give up a late-round pick to acquire him. But maybe this is a Brock Osweiler or NBA-esque scenario, where the Giants themselves have to give up compensation to free up cap space. In this case, the dead money would be just $33.315 million — money already paid that hasn't hit the cap. Future guarantees would follow Jones to his new team.

Likeliest scenario

The Giants quarterback future likely depends on where the team will pick in next year's draft and how they evaluate the quarterback prospects. If they have a top 2 pick, for instance, it's probable that they end up with Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.

Whether they acquire a rookie or not, the Giants will most likely keep Daniel Jones at least one more year. First, because paying $36 million to an average quarterback is not absurd. Second, because Daniel Jones could be the team's starting quarterback to begin next season, functioning as a bridge to the rookie. Or, if they don't get a rookie after all, Jones could have one more shot as a true starter.

Anyway, it's a complicated financial decision. The contract is heavy, and the Giants basically guaranteed two years of it — the Geno Smith's contract is much more team-friendly in terms of structure to the Seattle Seahawks.

Daniel Jones is probably at his lowest point in terms of market value. So it makes sense to just wait. When the quarterback is healthy again and there's more clarity regarding the team's draft position, it will be easier to decide in which direction the Giants will go.

Daniel Jones contract: Full details for Giants QB’s four-year deal

Jones’ deal comes with a $36M signing bonus.