Fox’s Tom Brady on Thursday criticized former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones for asking to be released after being put on the dock for business reasons.
In his comments, Brady had this to say: “I don’t know how this whole situation went down. . . .”
So we did the field work for him. Here’s what we’ve learned, according to a source with knowledge of the events.
For starters, the Giants originally wanted Jones to stay home with the salary. That’s what the Raiders did two years ago when they benched quarterback Derek Carr to avoid $40 million guaranteed in 2023. Carr agreed.
The player must be willing to do this; cannot be locked. The rule dates back to Steve McNair’s complaint against the Titans in 2006. After drafting Vince Young, the Titans didn’t want McNair to get injured while on the floor, causing his otherwise non-guaranteed salary. McNair and the NFL Players Association fought, won, and established a precedent that teams cannot prevent a player from showing up for work for non-disciplinary reasons.
There’s nothing wrong with the Giants wanting Jones to stay home. It’s a natural extension of their decision to cut him from the lineup. However, the request that Jones stay home laid the groundwork for Jones to eventually request his release.
His first choice, we’re told, was to stay active — and help other quarterbacks prepare for wins. When he decided not to stay home, the Giants changed his workout routine to minimize, if not eliminate, the possibility of injury. He wasn’t going to throw in practice and his lifting program was severely limited. All in the name of keeping him healthy.
Business considerations prevented Jones from doing anything to help the team. No real practice (other than scout team, pass safety), no throwing, limited lifting. He wasn’t going to play because he wouldn’t play. He wasn’t allowed to participate in practice because they didn’t want to risk triggering his $23 million injury guarantee for 2023.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with the Giants wanting to avoid an injury guarantee. But that helps explain Jones’ eventual decision to ask for a release.
Brady, we’re told, hasn’t reached out to Jones or his representation to get an explanation for why Jones asked to be fired.
It’s easy for Brady to say he would have handled the situation differently because he’s never been in a situation like this in his 20-plus year career. What would he do if the Patriots or Buccaneers benched him for trade reasons, asked him to go home with his salary, and then prevented him from practicing when he said he wanted to stay?
Brady also left his New England teammates in free agency after the 2019 season. He retired after the 2021 season. He returned after about a month. Meanwhile, efforts were made to attract him to the dolphins; it was never suggested that Brady wasn’t on board with the plan to pair him with Sean Payton in Miami after Brady was essentially done with the Buccaneers. Then, during training camp in 2022, Brady left the team for more than a week.
We’ll confirm that Brady had good reasons for every single trade decision he made. So would he want Greg Olsen or Tony Romo or Cris Collinsworth or Troy Aikman or Kirk Herbstreit to second-guess Brady’s motivations and actions during a massive broadcast? Or would Brady want them to make a phone call or two and get, you know, facts?
At $37.5 million a year from Fox, Brady should be expected to spend some time getting the player’s side of the story before he starts cussing. in front of a crowd of 38.5 million people.