PALM BEACH, Fla. — Round and round they go, a numbing and frenetic criss-cross of marquee players moving from one team to another, staggering money and NFL Draft capital traveling east and west, north and south, franchises all searching for the answer to the greatest question in the sport.
“I’ve never seen anything like it with the quarterback carousel and what’s going on,” John Mara, the Giants’ co-owner, told The Post Sunday morning from the NFL owners’ meeting. “People are realizing it’s by far the most important position in sports and either you have one or you don’t. We think we have one.”
This response warranted an interruption. That quarterback carousel Mara described sent Russell Wilson to the Broncos, Matt Ryan to the Colts, controversial Deshaun Watson to the Browns, Carson Wentz to the Commanders, Mitchell Trubisky to the Steelers and Marcus Mariota to the Falcons. And then there are the Giants, largely promoting inertia when it comes to filling what Mara called “by far the most important position in sports.”
Daniel Jones and the Giants move forward together despite decisively meager evidence that Jones can succeed in the job. You either have one or you do not. Does Mara really, truly believe the Giants have one?
“Yes, we do,” he said.
The Giants did not ignore the quarterback position, as they signed Tyrod Taylor to enough money (two years, $11 million) to not only secure his spot on the roster but also to give him enough legitimacy — financially and also based on his resume — to challenge Jones for the starting job. Consider that Jones in 2022 will make $965,000 in base salary and receive a roster bonus of $3.2 million and Taylor this season has a base salary of $1.25 million and received a signing bonus of $4.2 million.
Mara, relaxed and seated in a shaded area outside in a courtyard at The Breakers hotel, firmly established the quarterback pecking order, saying Taylor was signed “as the backup.” What if the summer arrives and Taylor clearly outplays Jones? Mara does not foresee that happening and added, “That’s a coaching decision. But we fully expect Daniel to be the starter.”
The Jones File is pockmarked with reasons why this will not work out. He is 12-25 as a starter — 4-7 last season before missing the final six games with a neck injury. Jones in his three-year career has 45 touchdown passes, 29 interceptions and 28 lost fumbles.
The Giants went 4-13 in 2021 and after the season Mara defended Jones with his now-famous admission, “We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up.” Mara doubled down on that indictment.
“We still have a lot of confidence in Daniel and think he’s going to be a very good quarterback if we just put the right pieces around him and give him a little bit more continuity and stability,” Mara said. “He hasn’t had that since he’s been here. Let’s give him a chance to prove himself. He’s shown flashes of it, for sure.
“You go back to that game in New Orleans [a 27-21 overtime victory for the Giants], he played as well as anybody ever could have expected. We think there’s a lot more of that left in him if we can just put the right pieces around him. I think having Tyrod Taylor will certainly let us sleep better at night, knowing that if something happens to Daniel we have somebody who can walk in there and at least allow us to compete and win some games.”
The Giants hired Brian Daboll and he will be Jones’ third head coach in four years. This will be the third new offense Jones will need to learn. Major issues along the offensive line, injuries for running back Saquon Barkley and various wide receivers left the Giants severely…
Read More: Giants’ John Mara backs Daniel Jones as QB carousel runs wild