The four-year, $160 million extension that Jones signed after his well-timed career year in 2022 – highlighted by a great performance in the Giants’ only playoff victory since winning Super Bowl XLVI in 2011 – includes a $23 million injury guarantee.
If he is injured and can’t pass a physical by March, then the Giants’ dead salary-cap charge for releasing him goes from a manageable $22 million to an unwieldy $45 million.
But benching the oft-injured Jones is a “football decision” – not strictly a business decision – as general manager Joe Schoen said last week.