LAS VEGAS — The medical diagnosis on the right knee Daniel Jones injured against the Raiders on Sunday is not yet official.
The same cannot be said about the Giants’ 2023 season, which arrived to Las Vegas on life support and departed DOA.
That much is official.
The Giants would like what happened on Sunday in Vegas — a 30-6 loss to the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium — to stay in Vegas. Unfortunately, they had to take it home with them, along with their 2-7 record and a starting quarterback who very well might be out for the season.
If Jones, who left the game after the first play of the second quarter with a non-contact knee injury, is out for the season with ligament damage, it’s not out of the question to wonder whether he’ll play another down for the team that in the offseason gave him a four-year contract worth $160 million.
The Giants’ current projected path, based on the first nine games of this season, has them headed toward having a very high draft pick and a significant roster overhaul, and that’s very likely to include a new direction at quarterback.
Daniel Jones injures his knee during the Giants’ loss to the Raiders on Nov. 5, 2023. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostJones is a virtual lock to be on the Giants roster in 2024, because the salary cap hit if he was cut would be some $69 million. But, if the Giants’ season continues to spiral and they take a quarterback high in the draft, all bets are off as to whether Jones remains the starter.
Jones went down awkwardly without being hit on the final play of the first quarter. During the TV timeout, he jogged around and threw a few warm-up passes to make sure he was OK.
On the next play, the first of the second quarter, Jones, from the shotgun on second-and-18, crumpled to the ground untouched when he tried to plant on his right leg, and he grabbed his right knee while on the ground.
It was Jones’ last play of the game, possibly his last play of the season and — who knows? — maybe even his Giants career.
It certainly was the last play of any true significance to this lost Giants’ season that has felt cursed from its start.
“Everyone’s going through this adversity together, so we’ve got to be tighter than ever … it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be fun, it’s our job,’’ offensive lineman Justin Pugh said.
Running back Saquon Barkley, who like Pugh has gone through a torn ACL, said if Jones being out for the season “is a reality, we’re 2-7, we’ve still got a job to do, we’ve still got to come to work, still got to compete. We’ve still got a long season in front of us, obviously.’’
Daniel Jones walks to the locker room with trainers during the Giant’s loss to the Raiders on Nov. 5. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostWithout Jones, the Giants have two healthy quarterbacks: Tommy DeVito, an undrafted rookie whom they were afraid to let throw forward passes in last week’s loss to the Jets and who finished 15 of 20 for 175 yards with a TD and two INTs Sunday, and Matt Barkley, who has started seven career NFL games and hasn’t played in the league since 2020.
Jones’ veteran backup, Tyrod Taylor, was knocked out of the Jets game last week with a rib cage injury and was placed on injured reserve this week, meaning he’s not eligible to play for the next three games.
The Giants are in a bad place — a really bad, dark place as they prepare to play at Dallas on Sunday.
Brian Daboll reacts during the Giants’ loss to the Raiders on Nov. 5, 2023. Getty ImagesJones is in an even worse place, his future with the team cloudy. This was supposed to be the season he was going to break out, Year 2 in Daboll’s offensive system that helped make Josh Allen a star in Buffalo.
But Jones is now 1-5 as the starter this season with two TD passes and six INTs. Those numbers came when he was healthy, but he had Saquon Barkley for only the first two of those starts before Barkley was lost to an ankle injury.
This was the killer about Sunday: Jones was back, Barkley was healthy and looking sharp and the Giants had both of their tackles, Andrew Thomas on the left and Evan Neal on the right, back in the lineup.
Tommy DeVito makes a pass during the Giants’ loss to the Raiders on Nov. 5. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostOther than tight end Darren Waller, the former Raider who was just placed on IR this week with a hamstring injury, the Giants’ offense was whole for this game.
That, of course, lasted all of one quarter, with the Giants trailing just 7-0 at the time of Jones’ latest injury. From there, things got uglier.
And now it’s anyone’s guess what’s in store for Jones’ future, beginning with Monday’s tests and official diagnosis and onward.




