The New York Giants hope to keep quarterback Daniel Jones at the franchise, general manager Joe Schoen has confirmed.

The 25-year-old is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and was non-committal when questioned by the media after the Giants' Divisional Round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.

Jones was sacked five times in Philadelphia, but had a solid regular season, throwing 15 touchdowns and rushing for another seven in 16 games, while overall he completed a career-best 67.2 per cent of his pass attempts (317 out of 472).

Regarding his contract, Jones said on Saturday: "We will cross that bridge when we get there. I really enjoyed playing here... We will figure out where that goes, but I have nothing but love and respect for this organisation and the group of guys in the locker room."

Speaking at an end-of-season press conference on Monday, Schoen said: "We'd like Daniel to be here. He said it, there is a business side to it. But we feel like Daniel played well this season. He's done everything we've asked him to... We would like to have Daniel Jones back.

"Hopefully we can get something done with his representatives. That would be the goal, to build a team around him where he could lead us to win a Super Bowl."

Having turned down the chance to exercise the fifth-year option on Jones' rookie contract, it seems the Giants feel he has proven himself worthy and Schoen is eager to get to the negotiating table.

"It takes two. Both sides are going to have that conversation," he said. "We haven't crossed that bridge yet. There are tools at our disposal."

Running back Saquon Barkley reiterated his desire to stay with the New York Giants after their Divisional Round defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Giants were well beaten by the Eagles, who progressed with a 38-7 victory at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.

Barkley recorded 10 touchdowns in the regular season, but made just nine carries for 61 yards against Philadelphia.

After a strong season for him and the Giants though, the 25-year-old said he wants to stay with the franchise "for life" despite his contract expiring this year.

"I don't want to jump to any conclusions. I've been vocal about how I feel and where I want to be," he said. "That's outside my control. I wanted to show the Giants, show them that the guy that they drafted is still here. I hope I did that.

"Everyone knows I would love to be a Giant for life, but I really can't give a 100 per cent answer. It's out of my control. Sometime this week, I'll get a conversation with my agent Kim [Miale] and see what's up.

"The way we played for each other this year, it was special. Obviously, it didn't end the way we would have wanted it to end. Not just because of the record or because we made it to the playoffs, this is probably one of my favourite teams of all time."

Quarterback Daniel Jones – who was sacked five times in Philadelphia – also sees his deal run out at the end of the season, and was less certain about his future intentions than Barkley.

"We will cross that bridge when we get there. I really enjoyed playing here," Jones said. "I appreciate all of those guys in the locker room. It is a special group of guys and I have really enjoyed being a part of it.

"We will figure out where that goes, but I have nothing but love and respect for this organisation and the group of guys in the locker room."

Coach Brian Daboll showed respect to the Eagles for their performance, admitting his team just second-best in every area of the contest.

"Give Philly credit. They did everything better than we did [Saturday]," Daboll said. "Tough game. We really got beat in all facets, so it wasn't one thing in particular. It was a team game, and we just didn't get it done. Congratulations to Philly. They get to move on, and unfortunately we don't."

Kirk Cousins acknowledged "probably the toughest loss" of his career after the Minnesota Vikings were beaten 31-24 by the New York Giants in the Wild Card round.

The quarterback completed 31 of 39 pass attempts, throwing two touchdowns and rushing for another, but it was his final play of the game that will be remembered most.

With 1:44 left in the fourth quarter and Minnesota fourth and eight on their own 48-yard line, Cousins threw to T.J. Hockenson, who was still five yards or so short of first-down sticks.

The alert Xavier McKinney ensured Hockenson only went backwards from there and closed the game out as the Vikings saw their last chance evaporate.

After the game, Cousins explained the thinking that went into the play, saying: "I tried to work Justin [Jefferson], but didn't feel good about putting it up to Justin and then when I went to progress I just felt like I was about to get sacked. I felt like I had to put the ball in play and cant go down with a sack. I felt I'd kick it out to T.J.

"I'd thrown short of the sticks on a few occasions in the game and even going back a few weeks, and felt throwing short of the sticks isn't the end of the world. It was obviously tight coverage so didn't have the chance to pull away.

"It's probably the toughest loss I've had in my career, so it hurts."

Coach Kevin O'Connell backed his quarterback, adding: "Looking back on it, maybe he could've been a little bit more, 'Hey, this is where you want the ball to go', but I want Kirk to play, I want him to be free out there to make good decisions.

"In the end, I look at that as much as anything that it's on me with that play call, even if we had eligibles with a chance down the field. Maybe that's always a play that could be better. That one will always stick with me."

Cousin's opposite number Daniel Jones also threw two touchdowns, completing 24 of 35 passes in the game, and was described as an "elite quarterback" by team-mate Saquon Barkley after the win.

Jones said the Giants just had to overcome early nerves, and they were able to hold out after Barkley's touchdown halfway through the fourth quarter gave them a precious lead.

"I think there were definitely some nerves going into it," he said. "We were excited. There was a lot of anticipating going into it.

"Once we settled in and started playing, it felt the same. It was just about execution and doing our job play after play. I thought as a group we did that well."

The New York Giants snapped a 10-season streak without a playoff win by defeating the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in Sunday's Wild Card game.

New York had not won a playoff game since capping the 2011 season with the franchise's fourth Super Bowl, but they rode a pair of strong performances from their offensive centrepieces to upset the 13-4 Vikings on the road.

Quarterback Daniel Jones became the first player to ever tally 300 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and 70 rushing yards in a playoff game, while star running back Saquon Barkley had 109 yards from scrimmage and scored two rushing touchdowns.

Incredibly, neither team committed a turnover, with Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins also delivering an impressive 273 yards and two touchdowns, but he was unable to produce in the fourth quarter.

It was the Vikings who scored first through a Cousins quarterback sneak from the opening drive of the game, but their lead did not even last until quarter time as Barkley and receiver Isaiah Hodges found the endzone in response.

After trading scores in the second and third periods, the Vikings pulled things level at 24-24 early in the fourth with a field goal, but Jones answered with a defining 12-play, 75-yard drive, setting up Barkley for the game-winning touchdown.

The Vikings had two drives and seven minutes to try and tie things up, but the Giants' defense rose to the occasion and closed it out.

New York will try to continue their march to the Super Bowl next week in the Divisional round against the league-leading Philadelphia Eagles (14-3).

Daniel Jones was left to bask in a "special moment" as he received a standing ovation at MetLife Stadium after helping the New York Giants clinch a playoff berth.

The Giants qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2016 with a dominant 38-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Jones has been much maligned since the Giants selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft.

But he completed 79.2 per cent of his passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a further 91 yards and a touchdown as the Giants secured the sixth seed in the NFC.

Jones, in the final year of his Giants contract after they declined his fifth-year option, was removed from the game with seven minutes and 30 seconds remaining, receiving a tremendous reception from the crowd and from his team-mates on the sideline.

"That was a special moment," Jones said. "A lot of guys who've put in a lot of work. We've been through, certainly, some tougher times and it feels good to be on this side of it, for sure.

"Special moment with those guys. Really proud of this team, proud of what we did today. Grateful to be a part of it."

The Giants cannot improve their seeding and have nothing to play for in their Week 18 clash with the Philadelphia Eagles.

By contrast, the Eagles need to win to clinch the NFC East and the number one seed in the conference. Defeat for the Eagles would give the Dallas Cowboys the chance to snatch the division and both the Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers the opportunity to clinch the one seed.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll indicated he would not rest his starters and give the Eagles some help in an unexpectedly nervy end to the season for Philadelphia, who suffered a second successive loss at home to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

"You get rest after the season. It's a long season," Daboll said. 

"This is the fun part of the season. It's the fun part of the season when you're winning. It's the bad part of the season when you're losing."

Journeyman quarterback Tyrod Taylor is expected to sign a two-year, $17million deal as backup quarterback for the New York Giants.

In his 11th season in the NFL, Taylor will play for his fifth team after stints with the Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills since being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.

According to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, the deal for the 32-year-old includes $8.5m in guaranteed money.

The Giants did not immediately confirm the deal, but Taylor changed his Twitter bio to identify himself as a "current New York Giant".

He also posted the tweet: "NYC!!!!!"

Taylor lost his starting role with the Chargers after an injection resulted in a punctured lung shortly before kick-off against the Chiefs in September 2020, with rookie first-round pick Justin Herbert getting the start and taking over as the franchise quarterback.

Joe Schoen is "really excited" to help Daniel Jones "put his best foot forward", with the New York Giants set to stick with their quarterback after ruling out a Deshaun Watson trade.

Schoen has been hired as the new Giants general manager and has plenty of work to do to make the team challengers once more.

The former Buffalo Bills assistant GM will at least be able to name his own head coach, with Joe Judge out after a 4-13 2021 season, but he may not have the same flexibility elsewhere. The Giants are over the salary cap for 2022.

As Schoen attempts to operate on a budget, he will not immediately be looking for an upgrade under center.

Having been a surprise selection with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Jones initially impressed with 24 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions in 13 games (12 starts) in his rookie year.

The quarterback has since struggled to build on that performance, however, tossing only 21 TD passes across the past two seasons combined.

Many would suggest it is time for the Giants to move away from Jones, but Schoen, it seems, would rather work to get the best out of a 24-year-old who threw an accurate, well-thrown pass with 80.3 per cent of his attempts this season.

That mark ranked ahead of three of the four quarterbacks still alive in the playoffs; Joe Burrow's 86.5 per cent led the league (minimum 100 attempts).

"I've looked at Daniel," Schoen said as he met the media in his new role on Wednesday – with Jones in attendance.

"Once the new staff gets in here, we're going to get together – offensive coordinator, head coach, the entire staff – dive into the film as a group and look at what Daniel does best, and we're going to try to allow him to put his best foot forward.

"I've looked at him. I wasn't here in the past, so I don't exactly know what he was told to do, but I do know this: I know he's a great kid.

"He's been in this building the last two days. I've talked to him. There's not anybody in this building that's said a bad word about his work ethic, passion, desire to win, and I think you've got to have those traits as a quarterback.

"The kid has physical ability. He's got arm strength, he's athletic, he can run. I'm really excited to work with Daniel.

"Again, when the new staff gets in here, we'll build an offense around Daniel to accentuate what he does best."

Jones also has the backing of Giants co-owner John Mara, who accepted the team had "done everything possible to screw this kid up".

And Mara assured there would be no move for wantaway Houston Texans QB Watson.

Watson pushed for a trade before the 2021 season and instead spent the year on the sideline as the subject of police and NFL investigations into sexual assault and misconduct allegations, facing 22 civil lawsuits.

"We're not trading for Deshaun Watson," Mara said. "There are so many reasons why we wouldn't do that.

"Cap-wise, we couldn't afford it, but more importantly with the allegations that are out there right now, that's just not the right fit for us."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.