Daniel Jones Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

When it comes to the New York Giants’ depth chart, it appears that Daniel Jones could be going from first to fourth.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Giants head coach Brian Daboll declined to announce whether Jones or Tim Boyle would be serving as New York’s No. 3 quarterback for this week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Giants had previously announced that Tommy DeVito would start and that Drew Lock will serve as his top backup after benching Jones following the team’s bye week and a loss to the Carolina Panthers.

That the Giants would even sign a fourth quarterback in Boyle would seemingly indicate that Jones is unlikely to ever play a down for New York again, which makes sense considering that his contract includes a $23 million injury guarantee for the 2025 season. Should the Giants avoid triggering such clause, they could release the 2019 first-round pick in the offseason, saving $19.4 million in cap space in the process.

Still, considering that Jones was previously viewed as New York’s franchise quarterback and had just started the first 10 games of the 2024 season, the idea of him potentially being relegated to fourth-string came as a surprise to some fans. And many of them took to social media on Wednesday to react to the news that the Duke product could be demoted even further down the team’s depth chart than originally anticipated when he was first benched.

[Ari Meirov on X]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.