Daniel Jones is no longer a member of the Giants.
The Giants announced on Friday morning that they have released Jones. Jones said on Thursday that he was “still processing” being benched and dropped to No. 4 on the depth chart earlier this week and team owner John Mara said that Jones requested that the Giants let him go on Friday.
“Daniel came to see me this morning and asked if we would release him,” Mara said in a statement. “We mutually agreed that would be best for him and for the team. Daniel has been a great representative of our organization, first class in every way. His handling of this situation yesterday exemplifies just that. We are all disappointed in how things have worked out. We hold Daniel in high regard and have a great appreciation for him. We wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
Jones was buried on the depth chart because the Giants did not want to risk an injury that would trigger a $23 million guarantee on his contract for next season. Jones said that there had been some conversations between the team and his agent about that clause in the wake of his benching, but it will be a moot point for the Giants now.
With the trade deadline behind us, all players are subject to waivers when let go by their teams. Any team claiming Jones would also claim that guarantee, so it’s a good bet that he’ll be a free agent next week.
