Almost as soon as he was back in the lineup, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones exited again. On the first play of the second quarter of New York's 30-9 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9, Jones went down in a heap behind the line of scrimmage while trying to maneuver his way away from pressure. On Monday, Giants head coach Brian Daboll confirmed Jones suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Sunday's loss.
It appeared to be a non-contact knee injury. Jones got up and briefly tried to walk to either the huddle or the sideline, but quickly went back down to the ground. He was removed from the game and replaced by backup Tommy DeVito.
Jones could be heard on the sideline telling teammate Saquon Barkley that he doesn't know what happened, "it just buckled," according to Fox Sports. After entering the medical tent, Jones walked to the locker room under his own power with trainers. At the start of the third quarter, the Giants ruled him out for the remainder of the game with a knee injury designation. Now, the Giants' fears are confirmed, as Jones will also be out the remainder of the season.
Jones had sat out New York's last three games with a neck injury he suffered during the Week 5 loss to the Miami Dolphins. He was relieved by the combination of Tyrod Taylor and DeVito. Taylor went on injured reserve earlier this week due to a rib injury, elevating DeVito to the primary backup spot. New York went 1-2 in Jones' absence, losing to the Bills and Jets and defeating the Commanders.
Undrafted rookie DeVito completed 15 of his 20 passes for 175 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in relief of Jones in Vegas on Sunday.
Jones has struggled badly this season, regressing hard after showing improvement a year ago. Prior to going 4 of 9 for 25 yards and taking two sacks on Sunday, he had completed 68.9% of his passes but at an average of only 5.9 yards per attempt -- a career low. He also had been intercepted on 4.0% of his attempts, by far the highest mark of his career, and had taken a sack on an astronomical 15.6% of his dropbacks, almost twice his career average. Jones threw just two touchdown passes while tossing six interceptions in six games played in 2023.
Injuries along the offensive line have played a role in the backslide, but Jones also simply has not played well even when put in position to succeed. Now, he's suffered a season-ending blow in his first year after signing a four-year, $160 million deal this past offseason to remain in New York.
