Cowboys vs Giants: Quarterback injuries continue for New York

Giants QB Daniel Jones has season-ending torn ACL - Jordan Raanan, ESPN

In his first game back after injury, Jones is lost for the season.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — An MRI on Monday morning confirmed the New York Giants’ fears. Quarterback Daniel Jones has a torn ACL in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season, coach Brian Daboll announced.

“All I know is he has a torn ACL right now,” Daboll said. “Obviously surgery will ensue, but I don’t know when that will be.”

The Giants (2-7) were still digesting the news Monday afternoon that their quarterback’s season is over after just six games.

“It’s devastating,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “One of my teammates. One of my good friends. It sucks to hear news like that.”

Jones missed three games with a neck injury before tearing the knee ligament Sunday on a noncontact injury. It caps a disappointing campaign for the Giants quarterback, who signed a four-year, $160 million deal this offseason, and complicates his and the team’s future.

The Giants will now turn to Tommy DeVito or Matt Barkley this week against the Dallas Cowboys. Daboll wouldn’t commit to DeVito starting after he came in to replace Jones on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Cover 4: Sunday takeaways & what’s next for Giants - John Schmeelk, Dan Salomone, Lance Medow & Matt Citak, Giants.com

The Giants have struggled to get off to fast starts and remain competitive this season.

Lance Medow: The Giants have scored fewer than 20 points in eight of their nine games this season and 10 or fewer in five of them. They are last in the NFL in scoring offense (11.2) and have the worst point differential in the league (-116). Those statistical categories once again came to light in Sunday’s loss to the Raiders as the Giants managed only six points and, once again, dug an early hole. The latter has been a trend this season. This was the third game the Giants trailed by at least 20 points while being shut out in the first half. Although they rallied to win one of them in Week 2 in Arizona, that has not been the norm.

Slow starts have overshadowed the 2023 season as they’ve been outscored 125-42 in the first half and have entered the locker room at the break with a lead just twice in nine games. Las Vegas immediately jumped out in front with a touchdown on its opening drive in which it faced no third downs. That set the tone early as the Raiders kept padding their lead. With the Giants constantly playing from behind, it puts an immense amount of pressure on the defense to play perfect football. New York had 11 legitimate possessions against the Silver and Black. Four resulted in punts, two due to interceptions and another four because of a turnover on downs. At that rate, it’s impossible to win games let alone remain competitive.

Brian Daboll won’t commit to Tommy DeVito as Giants’ starter - John Fennelly, USA Today

Down to their third-string QB, New York has some decisions to make at quarterback.

Third-stringer Tommy DeVito, an undrafted rookie, took over for Jones after DJ injured his knee at the end of the first quarter and gave us a preview of what to expect the next month.

It wasn’t pretty. The Giants scored just six points and DeVito was sacked six times. The only progress he made was during ‘garbage time.’ So much for Plan C.

On Monday, head coach Brian Daboll had few answers for the media about the team’s quarterback plans for the rest of the season.

“Well, we have DeVito,” Daboll said with what has to be very little confidence. “(Matt) Barkley’s on the practice squad. We have been back for less than 12 hours, so, I’ll have some meetings today with Joe (Schoen) as the day goes on, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Where it goes can’t be anywhere worse than where it’s been. The Giants’ quarterback plan has been completely flattened by injuries and they are running on fumes.

DeVito is the closest thing the Giants have to any type of normalcy and he’s still trying to find his way. Daboll would not commit to DeVito because he knows you can’t compete in this quarterback-driven league without at least a pro-level quarterback.

QB Jacob Eason reportedly signing with Giants - Ed Valentine, BigBlueView.com

The Giants look to add depth at the quarterback position.

In need of quarterback depth with starter Daniel Jones out for the season and backup Tyrod Taylor on IR for at least three more weeks, the New York Giants are reportedly signing journeyman Jacob Eason to the practice squad.

The only quarterback on the Giants’ 53-man roster is undrafted free agent Tommy DeVito, who is 17 of 27 (63.0%) for 163 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions over relief appearances in the past two games.

Veteran Matt Barkley was signed to the Giants’ practice squad last week when Taylor was placed on IR.

Eason had a tryout with the Giants during mini-camp in June, but was not signed. The 25-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts in 2020. He appeared in one game for Indianapolis in 2021, and one game in 2022 for the Carolina Panthers.

Eason has completed 5 of 10 career passes (50%) for 84 yards and an interception.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Monday he did not know if Taylor would be able to return when he is eligible to return from IR.