Danny Dimes: Do Commanders Rival Giants Believe in QB Jones?
The Washington Commanders didn't have a lot of on-field success last season. But two of their seven wins came against division rival New York, who experienced similar issues at quarterback.
Changes came in New York on the heels of a 4-13 season in the form of a new general manager in Joel Schoen and a new coach, Brian Daboll.
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But questions still remain at quarterback, where Daniel Jones enters his fourth season after being drafted No. 6 overall by the Giants in 2019. His time in New York has been anything but smooth, as turnovers and injuries have plagued the former Duke Blue Devil.
The new regime has yet to comment on Jones or its quarterback position but a vote of confidence has come from Giants owner John Mara, who thinks Jones is still their franchise quarterback.
Mara discussed his confidence in Jones with Pro Football Talk.
"We still have a lot of confidence in Daniel and think he’s going to be a very good quarterback if we just put the right pieces around him and give him a little bit more continuity and stability. He hasn’t had that since he’s been here. Let’s give him a chance to prove himself. He’s shown flashes of it, for sure.
"People are realizing it’s by far the most important position in sports and either you have one or you don’t. We think we have one."
While Mara continues to express faith in Jones, it hasn't yet moved the club to exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. That would lock Jones up through 2023 at a fully guaranteed $23.4 million.
That's a hard pill to swallow for any team, but especially one that is still having issues at quarterback.
Since 2019, only Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield have more turnovers than Jones' 49. And while it's widely accepted that Jones' deficiencies are partly because of a lack of talent around him, particularly along the offensive line, that's no doubt something that Schoen and Daboll will address.
What does this mean for the Commanders? It could be one, maybe two more years of dominance over the Giants. If Jones plays well enough to earn another contract from New York, that could mean good news for the rest of the NFC East.
