Daniel Jones, nicknamed Danny Dimes, is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants in the NFL. He played college football for Duke University and was drafted by the Giants in the first round in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Jones played in 13 games as a rookie and set franchise rookie records with 459 passes, 284 completions, 3,027 yards and 24 touchdown passes.
After showing promise in his first year, Jones struggled over the next two seasons. The Giants went 9-16 in Jones’ 25 starts, which were highlighted by his penchant for turning the ball over. Jones had 21 passing touchdowns, 17 interceptions and 17 fumbles. New York declined to pick up Jones’ fifth-year option, signaling that his time in the Big Apple might soon be up.
The 2022 season marked a major turnaround for Jones. In his fourth year, the Duke graduate finally proved that he could be a winning quarterback. Under new head coach Brian Daboll. Jones went 9-6-1 and led the Giants to the divisional playoffs. Jones threw for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions. His 92.5 passer rating and 67.2% completion rate were career highs. Jones also ran for 708 yards and seven scores, adding a new dimension to his game.
Over his high school career, Daniel Jones threw for 6,997 passing yards and 98 touchdowns. Despite the impressive numbers, Jones was barely recruited coming out of high school and was not ranked by Rivals.com.
He originally committed to Princeton University, but eventually chose to play for Duke University.
Daniel Jones became the starting quarterback in his sophomore season in 2016 after quarterback Thomas Sirk suffered a season-ending injury. Jones started all 12 games, completed 62.8% of his passes for 2,836 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
In 2017, his numbers across the board dipped. He threw for a measly 2,439 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as a junior. On the bright side, he was MVP of the 2017 Quick Lane Bowl.
During his senior year, Jones was named the MVP in the 2018 Independence Bowl.
Daniel Jones was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Jones led the Giants back from an 18-point deficit to defeat the Buccaneers and became the first Giants' rookie quarterback to win his first career start since Scott Brunner in 1980. He was also named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Jones was elected as a team captain in his second season.
Jones followed up a pair of lackluster seasons with a breakout 2022 campaign. The quarterback led the Giants back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Jones ended the season with 11,603 passing yards, 60 passing touchdowns, 34 interceptions and an 86.5 passer rating for his career.
Daniel Jones signed a 4-year, $25.7. million rookie contract with the New York Giants, including a $16,7 million signing bonus.
In 2020, Jones earned a base salary of $675,000 and a roster bonus of $1,076,548, while carrying a cap hit of $5,922,740 and a dead cap value of $21,492,864.
Jones signed an endorsement deal with Nike in 2019.
Jones is headed for free agency in the 2023 offseason and is expected cash-in big time. If Jones doesn’t sign a long-term contract, he’ll likely be hit with the franchise tag, which would pay him a one-year guaranteed salary of $32.4 million. It won’t be surprised if Jones signs a deal worth nine figures.
Jones has an older sister named Becca who played field hockey at Davidson College, a younger brother, Bates, who plays basketball at Davidson, and a younger sister, Ruthie, who plays soccer at Duke. Jones graduated from Duke University in December 2018 with a degree in economics.
"My focus is here, in the building, my teammates, coaches, and everyone a part of this organization, has been my focus. When you get outside the building, I don't think it does a whole lot to focus on that for me."
"Growing up and competing, I think I am a competitor and I think I'm a winner."
1. Had the same college coach as the Manning brothers in David Cutcliffe.
2. Both his siblings play college sports.
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