Dan Orlovsky never thought much of Daniel Jones.
Orlovsky, who played 12 seasons in the NFL as a backup quarterback and now serves as a well-regarded NFL analyst for ESPN, was not surprised by Jones’ downfall with the Giants.
Jones was benched as the team’s starter earlier this week, and after being demoted to fourth string, asked for and was granted his release on Friday.
“I don’t know if there’s a ton of regression,” Orlovsky told The Post’s Steve Serby of Jones. “This is kind of who Daniel’s been for most of his career.”
Jones completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions this year with a 79.4 passer rating along with 265 rushing yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.
With the Giants owning a 2-8 record, they decided to bench Jones and insert third-stringer Tommy DeVito as the new starter for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium, bypassing backup Drew Lock.
But Lock remained the backup and the Giants signed Tim Boyle to their practice squad, bumping Jones down the depth chart before he was released.
Jones was in his sixth season with the Giants and left with a 24-44-1 record in games he started.
The only thing that has surprised Orlovsky about Jones’ career was the Giants drafting him with the No. 6 overall pick in 2019.
“I was one of the people who was like, ‘What?!?‘ I kind of thought that he was an average physical talent,” Orlovsky said. “The moment he got drafted, I did a live reaction video and I got destroyed over it because I was like, ‘He shouldn’t be the sixth pick of the draft.’ It felt like the Giants were just trying to replicate Eli [Manning], and Eli’s personality.
“And then the morning after, I remember doing a breakdown, a [Duke] game against Temple, and I said the biggest issue for Daniel Jones is when he panics with the football when people get around him. It’s kind of been one of the hallmarks of the career. This isn’t a personal attack, it’s just kind of what my belief was of him as a player.”
