NFL Insider on Daniel Jones' $160M Contract: 'No Idea What the Giants Are Thinking'

Fans weren't the only ones confused by the New York Giants lavishing Daniel Jones with a $160 million contract.

"I have no idea what the Giants are thinking," one NFL insider told Mike Sando of The Athletic.

A year after declining Jones' $22.4 million fifth-year option in his rookie contract, the Giants signed Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal Tuesday worth nearly double that amount on an annual basis.

The Giants could have used their non-exclusive franchise tag on Jones and paid him $32.4 million next season, though that would have resulted in running back Saquon Barkley hitting the open market. Barkley was instead tagged before Tuesday's deadline.

Making matters even more confounding was the fact Jones was not particularly great last season. He finished with 3,205 passing yards and 15 touchdowns against five interceptions while adding 708 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. While Jones' ability to limit interceptions and scramble outside the pocket gives him value, he's still a checkdown king who struggles to make throws into tight windows in the red zone.

The Giants finished smack-dab in the middle of the NFL in scoring (tied-15th) and were only 18th in total offense. Jones' improvement speaks more to coach Brian Daboll's willingness to use him as a runner more than any marked ascent as a passer.

This has all of the hallmarks of short-term thinking, with the Giants pushing their chips to the middle of the table and tying up cap space for a player who tops out as average-at-best as a quarterback.

While one could easily point out that the "market" dictates what quarterbacks make, we've seen a jarring increase in salaries for mid-level quarterbacks of late. The Daniel Joneses and Derek Carrs of the world getting paid like superstars is only going to create a bigger chasm between the haves and have-nots in the NFL. There's a major difference between Patrick Mahomes taking up a chunk of the cap versus Jones.