Daniel Jones’ tenure as the New York Giants’ starting quarterback is over.
The Giants benched the struggling 27-year-old on Monday, and coach Brian Daboll plans to start fan favorite Tommy DeVito against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week in an attempt to end a five-game losing streak.
Not only was Jones benched, Daboll said he will be the No. 3 quarterback for the final seven games, while fellow veteran Drew Lock remains the backup.
“Obviously not playing the way any of us want to play, and that on all of us,” Daboll said.
“But felt like this was a decision that we needed to make here to try to spark things, change things up and we went with Tommy again.”
Daboll said he spoke with the quarterbacks Monday but he would not disclose what was said, although he said Jones wanted to remain the starter. Daboll refused to comment on his talks with co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch.
They will have decisions to make as a second straight losing season is all but certain for the Giants (2-8).
Obviously one will be Jones’ future — he has two years and $80 million left on his contract — along with that of Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, who also was hired in 2022.
By not playing Jones the rest of the season, the Giants are trying to avoid an injury. If he were hurt and unable to play at the start of next season, it would trigger a $23 million guarantee on his contract.
Daboll said Jones, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft, will stay with the team the rest of the season.
Red zone woes
Although Green Bay is on pace for its highest-scoring season since 2021, struggles in the red zone have prevented the Packers from producing up to their capabilities.
A late rally in Sunday’s 20-19 victory at Chicago could represent a turning point.
Green Bay pulled ahead for good with 2:59 remaining when Jordan Love scored from 1 yard out against a Bears defense that has allowed touchdowns on a league-low 40.6% of opponents’ red-zone possessions. Before that score, delivering inside the 20-yard line had remained as elusive as it’s been all season for the Packers.
The Packers have scored touchdowns on 19 of their 39 red-zone possessions to rank 27th in the NFL. They haven’t finished a season with touchdowns on fewer than half of their red-zone drives since 2006.
“I feel like sometimes we pick the wrong time to have a missed (assignment) and things like that,” running back Josh Jacobs said after the game.
“We might have a mishap here and it’s like, ‘Not in here.’ In the red zone, you’ve got to be perfect.”
The Packers were far from that Sunday as they reached Chicago’s 5-yard line without scoring on two drives.
Young stays starter
Bryce Young will make his fourth straight start at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Panthers coach Dave Canales made the announcement Monday after the team returned to practice following a bye week.
The Panthers won back-to-back games for the first time since 2022 before the bye with victories over the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants — the latter of which was played in Germany — with Young under center.
Although the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 didn’t put up great numbers during those two wins, throwing for a combined 297 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, he was able to improve his career record as a starter to 4-17.
Briefly
>> A piece of the roof at the home of the Dallas Cowboys fell to the field while the retractable portion of it was being opened at least three hours before their game against Houston, officials said. AT&T Stadium was mostly empty when the incident occurred, and team officials said nobody was injured.