Who is the Giants' backup quarterback? New York's 2023 QB depth chart behind Daniel Jones

Zac Al-Khateeb

Who is the Giants' backup quarterback? New York's 2023 QB depth chart behind Daniel Jones image

The Giants will face off against the top-seeded Eagles for the third time of the 2022 season on Saturday in the NFC divisional round.

If New York quarterback Daniel Jones plays the way he did against the Vikings in the wild-card round, then the Giants might get their first victory of the season over their NFC East rival.

Jones became the first player in NFL playoff history to pass for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 70-plus yards. That was enough to spur the Giants to a 31-24 victory over 3-seed Minnesota. Now he will go up against Jalen Hurts and top-seeded Philadelphia for the chance to move onto the NFC championship game.

Jones certainly wasn't the only factor in the Giants' win, as running back Saquon Barkley rushed for two scores while the defense limited All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson to just 47 yards on seven catches. But, as is often the case, the team often goes the way of their quarterback.

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If the Giants want to make a deeper run into the playoffs, it likely will be with Jones leading the way. But what if he was to miss time? The team would then have to go with an experienced veteran to spur a potential NFC championship game — or Super Bowl — bid.

The Sporting News looks at the backups to Jones heading into the remainder of the 2023 playoffs:

Tyrod-Taylor-062216-Getty-FTR.jpg

Who is the Giants' backup quarterback?

Jones' backup in New York is Tyrod Taylor, a 12-year NFL veteran who has spent time with the Ravens, Bills, Browns, Chargers and Texans before arriving in New York in 2022.

Taylor, a sixth-round pick out of the 2011 NFL Draft, played the first four years of his NFL career in Baltimore, where he played sparingly: He appeared in just 14 games — starting none — across four seasons with the Ravens before signing with the Bills ahead of the 2015 season.

He got the most of his career stats in Buffalo, where he was the team's primary starter from 2015 through 2017, earning a 22-20 record. He started just three games in 2018, leading the Bills to a 1-1-1 record. There, he completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 8,857 yards and 51 touchdowns to 16 interceptions.

The following season, Taylor played for the Chargers, appearing in eight games. In 2020, his second season in Los Angeles, he appeared in just two games, leading the Chargers to a 16-13 victory over Cincinnati by completing 16 of 30 passes for 208 yards.

Tyrod also started six games for the Texans in 2021, compiling a 2-4 record before the team backed Davis Mills as the team's starter. Taylor has appeared in just three games for the Giants in 2022, completing 6 of 8 passes for 58 yards and one touchdown to one interception.

Taylor also has something many other NFL backups don't: Numerous appearances in the NFL playoffs, and even starting experience. Taylor was a backup on the 2012 Ravens team that won the Super Bowl with Joe Flacco, and started the Bills' 2018 wild-card game vs. the Jaguars. He completed 17 of 34 passes for 134 yards and an interception in the 10-3 loss.

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Giants QB depth chart

Jones is the starter in New York, followed by Taylor.

Rank Player
1 Daniel Jones
2 Tyrod Taylor

Should the need arise, the Giants could raise the only other quarterback on their roster — sixth-year signal-caller Davis Webb — to the active roster. A third-round pick out of Cal in the 2017 NFL Draft, Webb previously spent one season with the Giants in 2016 before stints with the Jets (2018) and Bills (2019-21) before returning to the Giants this season.

Webb was signed to the team's practice squad on Aug. 31, 2022 and has spent time moving between the practice and active rosters all season. He has been elevated three times this season, the most recent of which was on Jan. 7; he has been on the practice squad since Jan. 9.

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb Photo

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.