The New York Giants were forced to shuffle through three quarterbacks in 2023 — Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor, and Tommy DeVito.
All three were injured at some point, with Jones suffering a serious neck injury followed by a torn ACL in Week 9. Taylor stepped in to replace him but was promptly sent to the hospital with a rib injury that proceeded to cost him several weeks.
DeVito was the healthiest of the trio but even he got banged up in multiple games and was forced to the sideline.
On the field, things were equally negative. Save for a thrilling three-game stretch under DeVito, the Giants’ quarterback play was uninspiring to put it modestly.
Just how bad were they? NFL Network’s Nick Shook recently ranked all 66 quarterbacks who started at least one game in 2023 and none of the Giants finished above 32nd.
32. Tyrod Taylor
I’m convinced it isn’t possible for Taylor to make it through a season without an unusual amount of adversity being plopped on his plate. This time around, injury forced him out of the lineup and cleared the way for Tommy DeVito’s short-lived run, but in typical Taylor fashion, he worked his way back to the field and proved why he was signed to be Daniel Jones’ backup. Taylor wasn’t remarkably effective in any area, but he was steady, so much so that his Giants dominated Philadelphia in a season-ending win over the defending NFC champs. That’s what Taylor provides at this stage of his career: reliably average-or-slightly-better production that will keep an offense afloat in a time of need.
Taylor is and has always been a hard-luck quarterback. You just have to feel for him. If it weren’t for bad luck he’d have no luck at all.
37. Tommy DeVito
The Tommy Cutlets era was fun while it lasted. The kid from New Jersey easily proved to be a sympathetic figure, a rookie living with his parents who suddenly found himself leading the Giants through a dark period. His play stunned many, at least after he got past an ugly debut in which the team actively avoided asking him to throw. He channeled some magic in front of a national television audience and padded his checking account with some quick endorsement deals, but as is often the case with reserve signal-callers, the magic eventually ran out. He’ll continue to be a fun underlying character to track in the years ahead, although I don’t think we’ll ever find ourselves swimming in the ocean of buzz that surrounded New York around Thanksgiving again.
The DeVito era was fun. It was really the only fun the Giants experienced this season outside of their Week 18 beatdown of the Philadelphia Eagles, which was a long time coming.
46. Daniel Jones
Fresh off signing a four-year, $160 million deal, Jones was supposed to own 2023. Instead, it owned him. The injury bug returned with a vengeance, forcing Jones to miss all but six games, and in the games he played, he rarely had a chance while operating behind a crumbling offensive line. He threw six interceptions, fumbled four times and had just one bright moment in a furious comeback win over the Cardinals in Arizona. Otherwise, 2023 was a lost year for Jones, who will try to pick himself up and prove he can be the guy worth $40 million per year for the Giants.
2023 was an absolute worst-case scenario for Jones. There’s no way around it and now he faces what could be his final year in blue.
