5 questions facing Giants entering the offseason​on January 13, 2025 at 4:47 pm

The Giants do not have any quarterbacks under contract for the 2025 season. Is that by design or simply poor planning? The quick answer is — both.

They have made it known that they want to bring back Tommy DeVito and could continue with Drew Lock on a short-term deal. But neither one is considered starter material. They’ll need to get a No. 1.

The Giants hold the third overall pick in the draft, which will probably put them out of reach when it comes to Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward of Miami as the two teams selecting in front of them (Tennessee and Cleveland) will scoop them up.

There are still other possibilities in the draft, perhaps on Day 2, that could emerge at the combine and in pro days that might interest them. But the consensus is, they make a trade or sign a bridge candidate to get them through the short term until the right guy presents himself.

Head coach Brian Daboll took over the offensive play calling in 2024 and the offense continued to sputter. That led to co-owner John Mara asking if that was the best move for the team. Daboll believes it is but agreed to take Mara’s suggestions under advisement.

“Maybe he makes some other changes in the way he operates going forward,” Mara said. “I talked to him about, ‘Do you really believe that it’s in our best interest for you to continue calling the plays?’ I said, ‘I’m not going to demand that you do one thing or the other. But are you better off letting somebody else call the plays?’ That’s a discussion that we’re going to continue to have.” 

The Giants named five captains before the season. Two on offense (quarterback Daniel Jones, left tackle Andrew Thomas), two on defense (nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, linebacker Bobby Okereke), and one on special teams (long-snapper Casey Kreiter).

By season’s end, only Kreiter was still in uniform. Jones is gone and Thomas has been injured two years in a row. Lawrence and Okereke will likely get captain nods again as will Kreiter, if he is re-signed.

The bottom line is the team has shaky and uncertain leadership. It is a young roster that needs to have a few veterans to look to for guidance.

Outside of quarterback, the Giants still have many glaring needs. Yes, general manager Joe Schoen has addressed just about every area on the team in free agency and/or the draft, but he hasn’t exactly nailed his job.

The offensive line is better but could always use upgrades. The same goes for almost every other unit on the team. Upgrades and depth are needed everywhere. Yes, they have some useful veterans and promising rookies but let’s face it, Schoen has overdrafted too many players meaning many of his draftees haven’t lived up to their draft status.

The Giants need better play at cornerback and along the defensive line. They could use another deep receiver on offense and a right tackle.

Schoen needs to simply draft better players. Easily said. His 2024 class looks like a winner. Maybe he’s on his way to figuring this GM job out.

Speaking of players who were overdrafted. This spring the Giants have two former first-round picks they have to make fifth-year option decisions on: Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux and offensive tackle Evan Neal.

Of the two, Thibodeaux has a better shot at having his option exercised. He had 11.5 sacks last year and a fractured wrist held him to just 12 games this season. Overall, the former No. 5 pick in the 2022 NFL draft hasn’t been what they had hoped. His cap hit for this season is $9.97 million but his fifth-year option price is estimated at $16 million. That might be too rich for the Giants.

Neal is hovering on bust status. The seventh overall pick back in 2022 out of Alabama was a “can’t miss” prospect who appears to have missed, badly. It would cost the Giants over $17 million to extend him into 2026. They’re not about to do that based on what they’ve seen.