Mac Jones’ name is back in the quarterback conversation, and this time it’s because the Giants may need a real answer sooner rather than later.
After Jaxon Dart suffered a season-ending injury on Monday Night Football this week, New York’s plans at the position shifted fast. The Giants do have Jameis Winston under contract and expect him to step in for Dart, but Winston’s Week 2 performance against the Rams did not help calm the noise. That’s why a trade is now being discussed, with Jones near the top of the list of possible targets.
Jones’ path to this moment has been a strange one. The Patriots took him with the 15th-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after a 2020 offseason that began with Cam Newton as the first quarterback following Tom Brady’s departure.
New England believed Jones could be its next franchise quarterback, and his rookie season gave them reason to think they were right. But the shine wore off quickly in Year 2, the tension around the situation grew, and Jerod Mayo eventually traded him after the Patriots drafted Drake Maye in 2024.
His next stop was Jacksonville, where he backed up Trevor Lawrence and made a handful of starts when Lawrence was injured. Even there, the same issues that surfaced in New England followed him, and the Jaguars moved on after just one season.
Since then, Jones has landed with the 49ers and has done well in a backup role when called on. NFL insider Adam Schefter said Jones could be moved if the Giants are willing to make the right offer, even if San Francisco would prefer to keep him. That matters because Jones has become a useful piece for the 49ers, especially after he played well when Brock Purdy was injured last year.
"There are some interesting candidates out there." @AdamSchefter dives into the possible QB1 pursuit by the Giants ✍️ pic.twitter.com/HtykN5iIAi
- Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 24, 2026
For a player whose starting career looked all but finished after New England and Jacksonville, just being in this kind of discussion is notable. Jones has rebuilt some value in San Francisco, not as a headline star, but as someone a team can trust to win games when needed.
The Giants would also have reasons to believe he could fit. They have a solid offense for him to step into and an impressive defense, even with Brian Burns sidelined for some time. If Winston doesn’t give them what they want before the trade deadline, Jones could become a much more serious option.
Still, the likeliest path is for New York to see what Winston can do first before making a move that could backfire. For now, Jones is simply in the mix. But the fact that his name surfaced so quickly after Dart’s injury says plenty about the way his post-Patriots career has gone.
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