Daniel Jones’ tenure with the New York Giants surprisingly ended a few months earlier than most expected.

The Giants announced Friday that they had granted Jones’ release after he requested to be let go during a meeting with team president John Mara.

Head coach Brian Daboll told reporters that he informed the team of Jones’ release prior to Friday’s walkthrough practice.

ESPNs Adam Schefter noted that Jones will be cleared on waivers, but it is “fully expected” that he will not be claimed due to his contract. If he does, he will become a free agent.

Schefter went on to say that the Giants will face a dead cap charge of more than $20 million if they release Jones.

Daboll was coming off the team’s bye last week announced On Monday, Jones was replaced by Tommy DeVito as the starter, and Drew Lock would be the No. 2 quarterback.

Video from the portion of the Giants practice open to the media on Wednesday showed Jones also taking reps behind practice squad quarterback Tim Boyle.

So was Jones is used on the scout team as a defensive safety during Thursday’s practice.

Daboll said Wednesday that the Giants had not yet decided whether Jones or Boyle would be the third quarterback for this week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Once Jones was benched, it meant his time in New York was coming to an end. There were obvious performance-oriented reasons to justify the move, but it was also protection for the organization, as his contract included a $23 million injury guarantee through 2025.

The Giants signed Jones to a four-year contract worth $160 million in March 2023 after making the playoffs during the 2022 season.

In 16 starts over the last two seasons after signing the new deal, Jones threw for 2,979 yards, 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His passer rating of 76.6 is the sixth-worst among quarterbacks since the start of the 2023 season.

The Giants went 3-13 in Jones’ last 16 starts. They are 8-19 overall over the last two seasons, with their most recent game being a 20-17 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Germany on November 10.