How the Giants’ looming QB decision could shake the franchise to its core

Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

Twenty years have passed since the Giants faced a quarterback dilemma quite like this, but John Mara hasn’t forgotten how hard it was back then. The team had a quarterback it liked — one who had the owner’s full support. But the general manager and head coach had their eyes on someone else.

“We had that discussion I remember very well back in 2004,” Mara said at the NFL owners meetings last month. “My father [Wellington Mara] was a huge Kerry Collins fan. We all were at the time. He was reluctant to pull the trigger on such a big trade for Eli Manning. 

“But the feeling that [GM] Ernie Accorsi had, that [head coach] Tom Coughlin had, that a lot of people had, was, ‘Hey, we have a chance to get a long-term franchise quarterback here who can help us win Super Bowls.’ So, we pulled the trigger on him.”

In retrospect, the Giants pulled off one of the most significant trades in franchise history — one that resulted in Manning leading the team to two Super Bowl championships. But it was a big gamble that risked everything for everyone involved.

And now here the Giants are again, in an eerily similar situation. They have Daniel Jones, a quarterback they believed in strongly enough to have signed to a four-year, $160 million contract just 13 months ago. He has the full support of a team owner who seems reluctant to replace him.

But once again, the general manager and head coach seemingly have their eyes on someone else.            

Mara has promised that, despite his strong support of Jones, he will not stand in the way if GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll “fall in love with a quarterback” in this year’s draft. Mara has even said that Jones and a rookie could co-exist this season — “Let them both compete and let the better man win,” he said — though that would set up one of the wildest quarterback controversies New York has ever seen.

But if the Giants do select a…

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Publish date : 2024-04-11 12:25:50

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