Just In: After quarterback Daniel Jones was benched, the New York Giants locker room was split.

Daniel Jones was taken off the field by the New York Giants for this Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. Tommy DeVito is set to start at quarterback.

Daniel Jones’s New York Giants friends don’t like that he was put on the bench; famous defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence says Jones is their best quarterback.

After Jones’s great showing in 2022, the Giants showed their faith in him by giving him a four-year deal worth $160 million (£126.5m).

But after an injury-filled NFL season in 2023 and a series of inconsistent games this year (the Giants won just two of their ten games), head coach Brian Daboll announced that Jones would not only be benched, but also relegated to third-choice quarterback, with Tommy DeVito taking over as starter.

This happened after the Giants signed Drew Lock to a backup contract. Since Jones is no longer playing, Lock will continue to play that part. The news came out on Monday, and Giants players are likely to be asked to comment when they get back to practice on Wednesday.

During a meeting on Tuesday, All-Pro defensive lineman Lawrence said, “He’s the QB1.” He’s the best quarterback on the team in my opinion.

In contrast, an offensive player told FOX Sports reporter Jordan Schultz, “We’re not idiots.” The reason they did it was for money. Let it be. In contrast, Daniel has always been polite and never complained, and now he is being ignored totally. The score for TEAM is bad. There are many places to point fingers. This is not a good reason to try to blame him, and putting him on third string is not reasonable.

There have been rumours that the decision to bench a player might have been affected by someone higher up than the head coach. This could mean that the general manager or even the owners are involved. Jones is signed for two more years after this season. If the Giants decide to cut him after June 1, they will have to pay $22 million (£17.4 million). The same goes for trading him.

DeVito will move up from QB3 to starter for the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This suggests that head coach Daboll may not have made the choice alone, since Lock was previously the second-string quarterback and DeVito was the third.

Last season, DeVito was great when he filled in for a hurt Jones. He threw eight touchdowns, ran for one, and picked off just three passes, helping his team to a 3-3 record.