With the shocking news of the New York Giants releasing former first-round pick Daniel Jones on Friday, hot takes have flown in from all directions. None were more prominent than those given on ESPN’s ‘First Take,’ including Ryan Clark blaming the Giants for “mishandling” the situation.
“The Giants mishandled this so bad,” Clark said. “The Giants are the main reason Daniel Jones has become a laughingstock, as has that organization in the way that they have dealt with him throughout his career.”
The First Take crew reacts to Daniel Jones being released from the Giants. pic.twitter.com/x5jwWTrxuu
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 22, 2024
Clark did not explain how he thought the New York mishandled the situation, but he was clearly in defense of his colleague, Elle Duncan, who sat next to him as he spoke. Duncan was criticized by Giants executive Pat Hanlon for mocking Jones’ official statement after he was benched for Tommy DeVito ahead of Week 12.
In her ESPN segment, “Taking the Elle,” Duncan alluded to her belief that Jones lacked intelligence before directly claiming that he would become Brock Purdy’s backup on the San Francisco 49ers. In turn, ‘First Take’ host Stephen A. Smith claimed that the team called ESPN to complain about Duncan as the entire show crew blasted Jones and his on-field performances over the last six years.
Daniel Jones’ career with the Giants
Since the Giants took Jones with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, fans in New York were not fully sold on him as Eli Manning’s replacement. The first two years of Jones’ career could only be described as inconsistent, as he dazzled the league in his first career start by guiding the team to an improbable win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but would only mix in his big-play ability with turnover-prone production in the following games.
Jones appeared to hit his groove in his fourth season under new head coach Brian Daboll. The Duke alum led the Giants to a surprising 9-7-1 record that led to a playoff berth. Jones’ ensuing win over the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round gave New York its first playoff win since 2011 and he was rewarded with a $40 million contract the following offseason.
However, since then, his career has only gone downhill. Dreadful offensive line play and poor decision-making led to Jones throwing just two touchdowns to six interceptions in six games of the 2023 season before going down with a torn ACL. After a successful offseason of rehab, Jones returned in 2024 and led the Giants to just a 2-8 record through 10 games before his eventual benching.
Overall, Jones owns a record of just 24-44-1 through six years as a starter. After his benching and subsequent release, Kyler Murray and Gardner Minshew remain the only members of the 2019 quarterback class who are still starters in the NFL.
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