The 2019 season was the New York Giants' 95th in the National Football League (NFL), their 10th playing their home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and their second and final season under head coach Pat Shurmur, who was fired after the final game of the regular season. During the season they equaled the franchise record nine-game losing streak of the 1976 Giants, predominantly due to ball security issues and poor defensive play. As a result, they ultimately failed to improve on their 5–11 campaign from 2018 as they finished at 4–12 in third place in the NFC East. For the first time since 1995, none of the team's players made the Pro Bowl.
The offseason saw some major changes to the Giants roster, with star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and veteran linebacker Olivier Vernon being traded to the Cleveland Browns, and Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins being lost to the Washington Redskins during free agency. Wide receiver Golden Tate was the biggest name signing, arriving from the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent.
After suffering defeats in the opening two games of the regular season the Giants made a change at quarterback, with veteran Eli Manning being benched in favor of first-round draft selection Daniel Jones. With Jones injured, Manning returned in Weeks 14 and 15, getting a win in the latter game to end the streak in what proved to be the final start of his 16-year career, as he announced his retirement soon after the end of the season. Manning started his last game on December 15, 2019, a 36–20 win over the Miami Dolphins, who was also the last player part of New York's 2011 Super Bowl championship team.
Season summary During the offseason the Giants made several controversial changes to their roster, headlined by the trade of star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. The trade also sent veteran linebacker Olivier Vernon to the Browns, with the Giants receiving safety Jabrill Peppers and guard Kevin Zeitler in return, in addition to Cleveland's first-round and third-round picks in the 2019 NFL draft. Several other starters were lost during free agency, including Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins who ultimately signed a six-year, $84 million contract with division rivals, the Washington Redskins. This led to public backlash by fans and the media since a week prior to the Beckham trade, general manager Dave Gettleman stated he was not going to trade Beckham. The biggest signing of free agency was Golden Tate, who joined on a four-year, $37.5 million contract from the Detroit Lions; he would ultimately be suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy.
The Beckham trade meant the Giants had two first-round picks in the 2019 draft, and they added a third during the draft in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. With those picks, they selected Duke quarterback Daniel Jones at number 6, Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence at 17, and Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker at 30. All three made the final roster, along with five of the Giants other seven draft selections. However, the Daniel Jones pick created more controversy as fans and the media criticized Gettleman on picking Jones too high as they believed Jones would be available with the 17th overall pick or later rounds. This led to the Giants not picking fan favorite prospect Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who was a lifelong Giants fan who was drafted by the Washington Redskins with the 15th overall pick.
After losing the opening two games of the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, head coach Pat Shurmur announced that the Giants would be making a change at quarterback, with rookie Daniel Jones replacing 16-year veteran Eli Manning as the starter for the week 3 game at Tampa Bay. Jones threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more as he led the Giants to victory, overcoming an 18-point deficit at half time and having lost star running back Saquon Barkley to injury in the second quarter. It was the Giants first win after being 18 or more points behind at half-time since 1949, and the second largest comeback in NFL history by a rookie quarterback making their first start. After MRI scans the following day, it was announced that Barkley had suffered a high right ankle sprain that would keep him out for four to eight weeks.
The Giants moved to 2–2 for the season with victory over the Washington Redskins the following week, but then suffered back-to-back defeats against the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots before Barkley returned sooner than expected for the week six match-up against the Arizona Cardinals. His return did not improve the team's fortunes as they lost their next two games to reach the midpoint of the regular season at 2–6. Prior to the NFL trade deadline, on October 29 the Giants sought to improve their struggling defense by trading for Leonard Williams from the New York Jets. It was the first time in NFL history the two organizations had completed a trade.
Further injury problems affected the team with starting wide receiver Sterling Shepard suffering from ongoing concussion symptoms that could be potentially career threatening. Having suffered a concussion during the week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys, he suffered another during the week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings and had been out since then, being put back into concussion protocol prior to the week 9 loss to the Cowboys. He was joined on the sidelines by starting center Jon Halapio, starting right tackle Mike Remmers and starting tight end Evan Engram, who would ultimately sit out the rest of the season. Starting left tackle Nate Solder and starting cornerback Janoris Jenkins then suffered concussions during the week 10 game against the New York Jets, as the Giants suffered their sixth straight defeat and entered their bye week in third place in the NFC East at 2–8.
The Giants losing streak continued after their bye with defeats against two NFC North opponents, the Chicago Bears in week 12 and Green Bay Packers in week 13, that firstly confirmed a third straight losing season and then put them out of contention for the playoffs. During the Packers game Jones suffered a high ankle sprain and, although he was able to finish the game, he would be ruled out of the following week's divisional match-up against the Eagles paving the way for Eli Manning to return as the starting quarterback. On his return Manning led the Giants to a healthy 17–3 halftime lead, linking up with rookie wide receiver Darius Slayton for two touchdowns, but he was unable to get the offense moving at all in the second half as the Eagles scored 14 unanswered points before snatching victory in overtime. With the loss the Giants tied the franchise record of nine consecutive defeats set in 1976. After calling a fan a "retard" on Twitter on the Wednesday following the game, and later failing to satisfactorily apologize, Jenkins was waived with an injury designation on December 13, 2019; he was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Saints.
With Jones remaining on the sidelines in week 15, Manning continued as the starter as the Giants finally snapped their nine-game losing streak by defeating the Miami Dolphins 36–20. It was seen by many as a fitting farewell for Manning in what was his final start at Metlife Stadium. Jones returned to the starting lineup in Week 16 against the Redskins in a match up between rookie quarterbacks in Dwayne Haskins and Daniel Jones. Jones threw for a career high 352 yards and five touchdowns while Saquon Barkley rushed for a career high 189 yards and caught 4 passes with 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns as the Giants won 41–35 in overtime, sweeping the Redskins for the first time since 2014. On December 30, 2019, the day after a 34–17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17 left the team with a losing 4–12 record for the season, head coach Pat Shurmur was fired.
Following the end of the season, Eli Manning announced his retirement.
Player movements Free agency Players with the Giants in the 2018 season Position Player Tag Date signed 2019 team NotesFBElijhaa PennyMarch 12, 2019New York Giants1 year, $645,000CJon HalapioMarch 8, 2019New York Giants1 year, $645,000KAldrick RosasMarch 7, 2019New York Giants1 year, $645,000DEKristjan SokoliNot tenderedLBJordan WilliamsNot tenderedQBAlex TanneyMarch 4, 2019New York Giants2 years, $2.15 millionWRCorey ColemanApril 16, 2019New York Giants1 year, $720,000CSpencer PulleyMarch 11, 2019New York Giants3 years, $8.025 millionCBAntonio HamiltonMarch 15, 2019New York Giants1 year, $825,000RBJonathan StewartRetiredSigned a one-day contract with the Carolina PanthersTEScott SimonsonFebruary 19, 2019New York Giants1 year, $895,000WRCody LatimerMarch 22, 2019New York Giants1 year, $1.41 millionWRBennie FowlerMarch 19, 2019New York Giants1 year, $895,000WRRussell ShepardApril 15, 2019New York Giants1 year, $1.5 millionGJamon BrownAtlanta Falcons3 years, $18.75 millionGJohn GrecoNTJohn JenkinsMay 13, 2019New York Giants1 year, $845,000DEMario Edwards Jr.New Orleans Saints2 years, $4.7 millionDEKerry WynnCincinnati Bengals1 year, $1.4 millionDEJosh MauroOakland Raiders1 year, $1.4 millionLBNate StuparMarch 20, 2019New York Giants1 year, $895,000CBB. W. WebbCincinnati Bengals3 years, $10.5 millionCBTony LippettMarch 19, 2019New York Giants1 year, $810,000SLandon CollinsMarch 11, 2019Washington Redskins6 years, $84 millionSCurtis RileyOakland Raiders1 year, $810,000LSZak DeOssieMarch 19, 2019New York Giants1 year, $1.12 million
Players signed by the Giants from other teams Position Player Tag Date signed 2018 team NotesWRGolden TateMarch 14, 2019Philadelphia Eagles4 years, $37.5 millionLBMarkus GoldenMarch 14, 2019Arizona Cardinals1 year, $3.28 millionDTOlsen PierreMarch 16, 2019Arizona Cardinals1 year, $943,750RBRod SmithMay 8, 2019Dallas Cowboys1 year, $805,000
NFL draft
Notes The Giants forfeited their third-round selection after selecting cornerback Sam Beal in the 2018 supplemental draft. The Giants were awarded a fifth-round compensatory pick (171st overall) due to losing Justin Pugh to the Arizona Cardinals during the 2018 Offseason.
Pre-draft trades
The Giants traded 2018 fourth-round (John Franklin-Myers) and sixth-round (John Kelly) picks to the Los Angeles Rams for linebacker Alec Ogletree and a 2019 seventh-round pick (245th). The Giants traded center Brett Jones to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for their seventh-round selection (232rd). The Giants traded Eli Apple to New Orleans for their 2019 fourth-round pick (132nd) and their 2020 seventh-round pick. The 2019 pick was traded to Seattle during the draft. The Giants traded Damon Harrison to Detroit for a conditional 2019 fifth-round pick. The condition was that the Lions would give the higher of their own 2019 fifth-round pick or the fifth-round pick that was previously acquired from the San Francisco 49ers in a trade for Laken Tomlinson. Ultimately the Giants received the pick originally held by San Francisco (142nd). This pick was traded to Seattle during the draft. The Giants traded wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and defensive end Olivier Vernon to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a first-round selection (17th), a third-round selection previously acquired from New England (95th), guard Kevin Zeitler, and safety Jabrill Peppers.
Draft trades The Giants traded their second-, fourth- and fifth-round selections (37th, 132nd and 142nd) for Seattle's first-round selection (30th) to select Deandre Baker.
Undrafted free agents The Giants signed a number of undrafted free agents. Unless stated otherwise, they were signed on May 2, 2019.