John Mara thrilled to finally give Daniel Jones ‘continuity’ with Giants

John Mara thrilled to finally give Daniel Jones ‘continuity’ with Giants

PHOENIX — With only minutes to spare, the Giants were able to put the finishing touches on a four-year contract with Daniel Jones worth $160 million back on March 7.

Earlier that day, co-owner John Mara reached out to his quarterback, hoping this one final outreach would help convince Jones how much he was wanted.

“I emphasized to him how much we wanted him here, wanted him to be a Giant and how I felt it was in his best interest to sign the deal and stay here,” Mara said Monday at the NFL owners’ meeting. “We’re finally going to give you some continuity, which we haven’t been able to do since we drafted you and we have a chance to build this roster to be a successful team and we want you to be a part of it. It was a good conversation. I was very pleased he ended up signing the deal.”


John K. Mara on the sidelines before a game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium.
John K. Mara on the sidelines before a game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium.Getty Images

This message was a sharp contrast to what Mara said Jan. 26, 2022, the day he introduced Joe Schoen as the team’s new general manager. The Giants were coming off a 4-13 season and Jones missed the final six games with a neck issue.

“We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here,” Mara said at the time, alluding to a revolving door at head coach and offensive coordinator, shabby offensive lines and suspect weapons to target in the passing game.

Jones returns in 2023 with the same head coach (Brian Daboll), same offensive coordinator (Mike Kafka), same quarterbacks coach (Shea Tierney), same starting running back (Saquon Barkley) and a few familiar wide receivers in Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins and two players coming off injuries, Wan’Dale Robinson and Sterling Shepard.

The big move in free agency was the trade with the Raiders for tight end Darren Waller, a top-tier threat when healthy. The Giants sent one of their two picks in the third round of the 2023 draft to Las Vegas for Waller.

“He’s an offensive weapon,” Schoen said. “Who are those weapons that are available? Where can we find a player that has a dynamic skill set that can help us? Waller was one of those players we found out was available, we did our research on him and the value met what we were willing to pay.”

In the Giants grading scale, Waller is listed as a “blue” player — considered to be a Pro Bowl-type player.

Perhaps the Giants will select a wide receiver with the 25th overall pick in the upcoming draft to add to Jones’ arsenal.


Daniel JonesDaniel JonesCorey Sipkin for the NY POST

“If we put the pieces around him there’s no limit to how high he can climb,” said Mara, who added he is “very confident” the Giants can eventually win a Super Bowl with Jones as the starting quarterback.

“I think he showed how good a quarterback he can be last year and if we continue to improve our roster there’s no limit to how well he can play,” Mara said.

Signing inside linebacker Bobby Okereke should significantly improve the run defense, an area that bothered Mara during the 2022 season.

“I obviously feel much better about our team now than I did a year ago,” Mara said. “Obviously our division is much tougher. I think we have the pieces in place to continue to improve and ultimately contend for a championship.”