The New York Giants have pivoted into a new era coming out of the Week 11 bye, announcing that Daniel Jones will be benched in place of Tommy DeVito going forward. This decision effectively ends Jones' tenure with New York, and it appears some inside the Giants locker room aren't taking it well, headlined by star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence.
"That's my best friend," Lawrence said Tuesday of the decision to bench Jones, via The Athletic. "It's tough for that to happen. I can't control it. They made the decision based off their evaluations and their thoughts and feelings. … That's my boy. As a player, you got to keep playing. As a human and as a brother, I feel for him."
Jones and Lawrence entered the NFL at the same thing as part of the Giants 2019 draft class. While Jones was selected with the No. 6 overall pick that year out of Duke, Lawrence was the team's other first-rounder as the 17th overall pick out of Clemson. They were both looked at as foundational pieces to the organization's rebuild and now one is left standing.
"(Daboll) just said it was a hard decision," Lawrence said. "I'm sure it's hard. He's the QB1. To me, the best quarterback on the team. But they see things differently. I guess that's all that matters."
With Jones at the helm this season, the Giants have fallen to 2-8, which has them in last place in the NFC East. While quarterbacks naturally carry the brunt of the success and failures of a given organization, Lawrence noted that "teams lose games, not just one player, and I think that should be understood."
The two-time All-Pro added that even if you are confused with a decision by the coaching staff, it's sometimes best to be "naive" and simply move forward.
"Because you don't know their full thoughts behind it," Lawrence continued. "I think we trust the coaches and where they're going and where they think we can go. That's what you have to do. You have to be naive. You start thinking about the wrong shit, then you start playing like shit, you know what I'm saying? You got to be naive and trust the process."
Of course, there's more at play with Jones than the Giants simply deciding that he's no longer their best option. Contractually, Jones has a $23 million injury guarantee, so the team may also be looking to skirt that. In any event, Jones is now riding the bench, leaving Lawrence and the rest of the roster in the hands of DeVito going forward.
