Insider explains how Giants could draft QB and trade Daniel Jones

Former NFL MVP and current analyst Boomer Esiason warned the New York Giants this week that they shouldn't keep quarterback Daniel Jones on the roster if they draft his eventual replacement on Thursday or Friday. 

Most had assumed the Giants would have to wait until next offseason to escape Jones' contract, but NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk shared on Thursday morning how Big Blue could potentially trade the 26-year-old this spring or summer. 

"They’d have to be willing to pay a large chunk of his salary," Florio explained, "...but why not pay $17.75M to move Jones if keeping him means paying him $35.5M to ride the pine?"

Like Esiason, Florio mentioned how the New York Jets split a $5.5M cost to send quarterback Zach Wilson to the Denver Broncos ahead of the draft. 

It's worth noting that, by all accounts, the Giants plan to have Jones start this fall ahead of backup Drew Lock and a rookie taken at any point during the draft. A signal-caller selected in either the first or second round would almost certainly be viewed as a future QB1, but one taken in rounds 3-7 would be seen as more of a project that should be able to co-exist with Jones. 

The Giants declined the fifth-year option attached to Jones' rookie contract in the spring of 2022 before he guided the club to a playoff berth and a road postseason win. However, he's dealt with two significant neck injuries since the fall of 2021 and is coming off a torn ACL he suffered this past November. It's unclear if any team would want Jones even at a discounted price this spring. 

As shared by Jared Dubin of CBS Sports, league insider Dianna Russini reported on "The Athletic Football Show" podcast earlier this week that the Giants giving up on Jones after the club signed him to a four-year deal in March 2023 "was just a really tough sell to ownership." 

"Tough" may not be "impossible" if a quarterback like Washington's Michael Penix Jr. or Oregon's Bo Nix falls to the Giants in the draft's second round.