Saquon Barkley on Daniel Jones’ Giants Exit: ‘Sucks to See How Everything Went Down’ | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

November 22, 2024 Vaseline blog 0

Saquon Barkley on Daniel Jones’ Giants Exit: ‘Sucks to See How Everything Went Down’ | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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Philadelphia Eagles running back (and ex-New York Giant) Saquon Barkley briefly commented on the news that the Giants released his good friend and former teammate, quarterback Daniel Jones.

ESPN’s Tim McManus relayed the remarks.

Tim McManus @Tim_McManus

Saquon Barkley gives his thoughts on the Giants releasing Daniel Jones, his good friend. pic.twitter.com/TOwW03p2s0

“I’m not going to speak too much about that. I’ve been in contact with him. Our friendship has stayed close throughout the whole process of me being here.

“It sucks to see how everything went down out there. But I have nothing but great things to say about him. You’re not going to really find anybody that can really say any negative things about him, but it’s the NFL. Hopefully, wherever he ends up next, they’re going to get a guy who comes in and works.

“It didn’t work for me over there. I’m doing well over here. Hopefully he can find the same kind of fresh start and success.”

The Giants announced on Monday that they benched Jones for Tommy DeVito. Jones was demoted to third-string quarterback on the depth chart. On Friday, the Giants revealed that Jones approached owner John Mara and asked for his release, which was granted.

Barkley played six seasons for the Giants before entering free agency and signing a three-year, $37.75 million contract with Philadelphia. The grass is greener in Philadelphia, where Barkley’s 1,347 yards from scrimmage lead the NFL. He’s also scored 10 touchdowns for the 8-2 Eagles, who lead the NFC East.

Barkley obviously hopes that Jones can find a successful second act elsewhere like him. Right now, though, Jones is fresh off an ugly ending in New York that saw the team go 2-8 in his 10 starts. He was 33rd in passer rating out of 37 qualified quarterbacks and had just one more touchdown pass (eight) than interceptions (seven).

Jones flashed at times during his six years as the Giants’ starter, most notably in 2022 when he helped lead New York to its first playoff appearance since 2016 and first playoff win since 2011. That ultimately led to a four-year, $160 million contract signing during the 2023 offseason.

But it didn’t work out. Jones struggled significantly in six games in 2023, throwing three times as many interceptions (six) as touchdowns (two). His season was cut short after a torn ACL suffered in November 2023 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Jones returned healthy in 2024 and simply never came close to returning to the promising 2022 form.

It was abundantly clear post-benching that the Giants would move on from Jones and find a new long-term signal-caller. But the Joneses came to an abrupt ending Friday, just one day after he was seen playing scout team safety during practice.

The question now is whether Jones lands as a backup somewhere or perhaps gets some late-season starts on a team in need of a quarterback. In the interim, the Giants move forward with DeVito for the remainder of the season, beginning Sunday at 1 pm ET against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.