Kerry Collins knew what was coming. The Giants had acquired Eli Manning in a bold draft day trade, and Collins was no longer the team’s top quarterback. He refused to accept a pay cut to stay with the team, and he was released on April 28, 2004. Collins had started 67 consecutive games for the Giants, but he was now expendable.
The Giants’ plan was to have Collins mentor Manning until the rookie was ready to take over. But Collins was 31 years old and had no interest in being a caretaker quarterback. He knew that his days were numbered.
“Unless the guy’s just an absolute, total flop, your days are numbered,’’ Collins told The Post from his home in Tennessee. “You draft somebody that high, everybody is clamoring to see him on the field and see what he can do. They’re counting down the days until you’re not in there anymore and the other guy is in. That’s just the way it is.’’
That is not exactly the way it will go down for Daniel Jones if the Giants on Thursday night take a quarterback up high in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Jones is guaranteed $36 million for the 2024 season and thus he is un-cuttable. General manager Joe Schoen has said time and again that if Jones is healthy — he is coming off knee surgery — the expectation is he will be the opening day starter.
But if there is a highly touted rookie quarterback on the scene, the starting meter on Jones begins winding down, tick, tick, tick and sooner, rather than later, it will expire. If the Giants go in this direction, they had better be prepared for the maelstrom that follows. There is nothing more distracting to a team than having two quarterbacks for one job.
Wait until Jones looks rusty in a training camp practice or he misses an open receiver in the season opener, or — heaven forbid — throws the ball up for grabs for an interception. From the moment the Giants are off the clock after taking a quarterback at No. 6, Jones’ ownership of the starting job is on the clock. It is almost always an irrevocable decree: Your time is nearing an end.
Not that this would be particularly novel or unfair. A case certainly can be made that Jones had five years to prove himself and, for a litany of reasons not all of his making, failed to do so. Jones, the No. 6 overall pick in 2019, once benefitted from this dynamic, as the move was made after only two games that season that Jones was in and Manning was out.
Since then, it has been a DJ production, with Jones accompanied by clear-cut backups in the quarterback room. Colt McCoy. Mike Glennon. Jake Fromm. Tyrod Taylor. Tommy DeVito. All on the scene for a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency situation.
That dynamic gets tumbled if there is a first-round pick added to the mix, no matter that the rookie, initially, is third on the depth chart behind Jones and backup du jour Drew Lock. It all goes bonkers if the Giants actually trade up to get their guy, as giving up draft assets always adds pressure to get the kid on the field.
If that trade-up turns out to produce Drake Maye, Jones might as well start exploring whether he can get out of his apartment lease. J.J. McCarthy might buy Jones a bit more time.
There will be quarterback questions galore thrust at Brian Daboll and he will not enjoy the daily bombardment. Jones knows he will start but will not finish, and it will be a challenge for him to be upbeat. The rookie, even if he tries to downplay his presence, will be hounded because everyone realizes he is next in line. Teammates will grow tired of having to choose sides or provide analysis of a pageant stacked for the newcomer.
Collins took the Giants to a Super Bowl, but he had no chance to hold back the Eli Express. Kurt Warner, with a Super Bowl triumph on his résumé, was signed to do what Collins would not and lasted nine games before his plug was pulled. After the Giants sent him packing, Collins played eight more seasons in the NFL.
Manning was the MVP of two Super Bowl victories and his 16-year stay has him on the precipice of the Hall of Fame. “Hearing what Ernie had to say, he felt Eli was the guy who could do what he did and he was right,’’ Collins said. “Credit to him for making that decision and credit to Eli for the career he had.’’
Still, it stung. “It’s basically saying, ‘We don’t believe in you anymore, we’re going to bring in somebody else,’ ’’ Collins said. “I’m sure if it happens that way, Daniel will be a pro and he’ll do what he has to do, but he knows he’s out of there at some point. Some point soon.’’
Warnings of upcoming turbulence do not mean the Giants should steer clear of taking the quarterback ride. But they had better be ready to fasten their seat belts.
