The New York Giants lost some quarterback depth on December 26, as veteran Matt Barkley was poached off of the practice squad by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport stated that the Barkley signing occurred “with the status of QB Trevor Lawrence up in the air because of a sprained right shoulder.”
The Jaguars only had C.J. Beathard on the 53-man roster behind Lawrence before bringing in Barkley, with reserve quarterback E.J. Perry on the Jacksonville practice squad. It’s possible the vet backs up Beathard in a key Week 17 outing with the Carolina Panthers.
Giants Non-Committal on Starting Quarterback vs. Rams
Giants fans probably won’t lose much sleep over Barkley heading to Florida, but the departure doesn’t make the NYG quarterback situation any less complicated heading into Week 17.
While addressing the media on December 26, head coach Brian Daboll was non-committal on the starting QB versus the Los Angeles Rams. “We’ll talk about it as a staff, we’re finishing up this game and we’ll talk about it tonight,” the Giants HC noted when asked if Tyrod Taylor or Tommy DeVito would be under center this weekend.
With the status of QB Trevor Lawrence up in the air because of a sprained right shoulder, the #Jaguars have signed QB Matt Barkley to the active roster from the #Giants practice squad.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 26, 2023
When pressed on whether Taylor’s free agent status will impact the decision, Daboll reiterated that his staff will “talk about it tonight.” It appeared to be a purposefully aloof response from the head coach.
As for DeVito versus Taylor, the debate has been ongoing on social media all afternoon.
Giants Media Weigh in on Tyrod Taylor or Tommy DeVito in Week 17
As fans went back and forth on which QB should start against the Rams, different media members weighed in with their thoughts on the matter.
“Understand Daboll not making any announcements after an emotional loss, but he has to start Taylor next week,” The Athletic’s Dan Duggan voiced.
New York Daily News reporter Pat Leonard agreed, expressing: “Tyrod Taylor must be Giants’ starting QB for their final two games against the Rams & [Philadelphia] Eagles if the goal is to try to win. He gives the team its best chance and always did.”
On the other hand, NorthJersey.com’s Art Stapleton urged fans not to “lose sight of the big picture.” Explaining: “Scream about Tommy DeVito vs. Tyrod Taylor, and I get it. What Monday showed us yet again: it’s time for [the] NY Giants to find a new starting QB for their future. Nothing else matters.”
Finally, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post had a unique response of his own, seemingly taking a victory lap on the NYG quarterback situation.
“Now that some of the shine is off Tommy DeVito, it seems many Giants fans are all-in on ‘Let’s get a new QB for the future no matter what’ narrative,” he said. “But if you were in favor of giving Daniel Jones a four-year, $160M contract in March, I can’t see how you do a 180-turn so quickly.”
“It’s naive and rewrites history,” Dunleavy went on. “One more injury-plagued season and 4 bad games when healthy swayed you that quickly? Were you really thinking that [Jones] was going to stay healthy and never have a bad stretch again when you re-signed him? That’s overestimating who he was then and still is.”
He concluded that “it’s a big miscalculation to support that contract and move on so quickly.” Adding: “Then again, I never thought it was a good idea to re-sign him at that price — tag him, re-sign [Saquon] Barkley — as history shows.”
