The New York Giants are planning to bring back head coach Joe Judge and quarterback Daniel Jones for the 2022 season, league sources tell ESPN.
The Giants believe both Judge and Jones deserve the opportunity to demonstrate their talents next season, even though New York already has been eliminated from the playoffs and has clinched a fifth consecutive season with double-digit losses.
The Giants still are expected to have difficult conversations with multiple members of the organization in an attempt to diagnose all that has gone wrong in recent seasons, and Judge will be a key part of those conversations.
Many sources around the league believe the Giants’ big change will involve general manager Dave Gettleman, who could decide to step down after four seasons with the team.
One wrinkle that could complicate New York’s plans is that a new GM potentially would want to hire a new head coach rather than retain Judge, but those conversations would occur later in the offseason, and Giants ownership would convey its preference to keep Judge.
Judge enters Sunday’s game against Philadelphia with a 10-20 career record, but despite some issues with his assistants, he has shown the Giants enough to make them want to see him succeed.
Jones, selected by New York with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft, has played behind a shaky offensive line and hasn’t always received all the support he has needed, but the Giants still believe he can be effective.
The Giants announced this past week that Jones, 24, will miss the remainder of this season because of a neck injury. Jones completed 64.3% of his passes this season for 2,428 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He cut down dramatically on his turnovers with 10 in 11 starts, after committing 39 turnovers in 26 starts over his first two seasons.
Veteran Mike Glennon has started the past three games in Jones’ absence but has struggled, completing just 51% of his passes for 477 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. The Giants (4-10) have lost all three of those games, by a combined total of 78-36.
Jake Fromm will replace Glennon and make his first career NFL start Sunday against the Eagles, sources have confirmed to ESPN.
The Giants have months to decide whether to pick up the fifth-year option on Jones’ contract, and New York also could keep him beyond the 2022 season with a long-term extension or a franchise tag.