Giants 2022 UFA Primer: QB Mike Glennon

Mike Glennon, QB

Height: 6’7”
Weight: 225 lbs.
Age: 32
NFL Exp.: 9 years
College: NC State

One of the NFL’s classic journeymen players, Mike Glennon—the former 2013 third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—has spent most of his nine-year career as a backup for several organizations. The quarterback has had brief stints with Chicago, Arizona, Oakland, and Jacksonville, four of which ended after just one season.

After departing the Jaguars with a 1-15 overall record in 2020, the veteran Glennon arrived in East Rutherford last spring for what would be his sixth NFL franchise. On March 19, 2021, the New York Giants signed Glennon to a one-year, $1.35 million contract, part of their slew of signings in the offseason by then-general manager Dave Gettleman.

Entering his ninth NFL season, Glennon had compiled 599 completions, 6,235 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 25 touchdowns. He also came off a season where his completion percentage touched 62%, but his QBR was an abysmal 29.8, the third-lowest of his career.

Glennon began his time with the Giants as a backup to Daniel Jones, getting his first taste of action in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys after Jones left with a concussion. He went back to the bench for several games before he got his first start as a Giant in Week 13 in relief of Jones as the quarterback went back to the injury report with an eventual-season ending neck injury.

Glennon played in the last five games of the season, leading a struggling Giants offense to some of their worst numbers in recent history and an 0-5 tailspin to wrap the 2021 season at 4-13 overall.

2021 Recap

Mike Glennon was called into service late in the second quarter of a Week 5 contest with the Dallas Cowboys, as the Giants were getting hammered by Dak Prescott and their stellar offense. On a 3rd-and-1, starter Daniel Jones attempted to beat two Cowboy defenders to the goal line for a touchdown but instead took a helmet-to-helmet blow as he neared the plane and suffered a concussion that knocked him out of the game.

It was just one blow among several that the Giants suffered in that game—they also lost running back Saquon Barkley and receiver Kenny Golladay in the game. The reality of Glennon having to take over with his track record—only six wins to his entire career—was even scarier for Giants fans to live with. He threw 16 completions for 196 yards and a touchdown, but his two interceptions buried the Giants further in a 44-20 loss.

Luckily Jones and company eventually returned from their injuries until they happened again. When Week 13 rolled in, the Giants were 4-8 but winners of two of their last three with some momentum building. With momentum came the latest obstacle—Daniel Jones suffered another injury, this time a neck strain against the Eagles the week before effectively ending his season.

Glennon was thrust back into the starting spot and, while it was not his fault alone, the Giants' offense provided some of the worst displays of football in a very long time.

Starting in Miami, Glennon and the offense couldn’t sniff the end zone as the Giants put only 9 points on the board to go along with his 23 completions for 187 yards and an interception to lose convincingly to the Dolphins. The empty day in the red zone contributed to the Giants having the worst scoring percentage in that area of the field in the entire league.

Two weeks later, the Giants hosted the Cowboys, and Glennon had arguably the worst performance of his career. He posted 13 completions for 99 yards, three interceptions, and a QBR of 7.4 in a 21-6 loss. In addition, he was pulled off the field mid-game and replaced by Jake Fromm, who started the week after in Philadelphia.

It all hit rock bottom for Glennon as he returned to one of his former homes—Chicago—in Week 17. Already averaging 11.3 points per game in their losing stretch, the Giants put up three points, and Glennon had four completions for 24 yards and was sacked four times. The Giants also had 155 yards of total yardage and -10 net passing yards, the lowest by a team since 1998 when Chargers’ quarterback Ryan Leaf had -4 net yards.

Behind Glennon, the Giants finished the season averaging 9.3 points and 232 yards of total offense per game. Glennon suffered a season-ending wrist injury in Week 17, forcing him to miss the finale.

His career continues to be a disappointment, with the latest display tallying 90 completions for 790 yards, four touchdowns, and ten interceptions.

Why the Giants Should Keep Him

You’d be hard-pressed to find a strong supporter of Mike Glennon from a football perspective, and that reality extends beyond his time as a member of the Giants. If there was an honest discussion regarding Glennon’s case for a new contract, it would end in both sides agreeing there is none.

Glennon will not draw nor demand hefty contracts, but even if money were no object, the value of bringing him back is very minimal, if anything at all.

Kudos can be given to his strong arm and the ability he has to throw the deep ball that led the Giants to sign him as Jones’ backup. Yet, with that sometimes comes questionable decision making, as we saw pan out with his ten interceptions in a span of six games.

The “veteran presence” argument could apply here, as Glennon was a good soldier to Jones in his continued development in year 3. However, Jones, and more so the Giants, may need more than a friendly mentor with nine years of experience standing beside him next season. With the starter’s injury record (10 missed games in the first three years), they need a backup who has won games in the NFL and can keep the offense functional should Jones go down again in the future.

Why the Giants Shouldn’t Keep Him

The numbers speak for themselves, but the individual facets of Glennon’s game make him a liability in the modern NFL. Unlike Jones and most other talented quarterbacks of the day, Glennon lacks any form of decent mobility to escape the pocket, allude defenders, and take off with the ball.

He was a turnover machine behind a Giants offensive line that offered him no time to make well-judged throws, along with a few instances of him forcing bad throws into double coverage in an attempt to make a big play that wasn’t there.

These are just a few things that Glennon showed this past season. The list could go on, but it will stop here to spare repetition. He simply doesn’t bring any game-changing or innovative skills to the Giants roster. What he does best is be a game-managing quarterback that can lead decent drives.

In 2022, the Giants need more than that to thrive, no matter who is at quarterback. New head coach Brian Daboll will seek out such players who can have a huge impact on the offense. Those who can take over the game with their own talents when the situation demands.

Tell me where you find a superstar in Glennon who, by the way, needed season-ending wrist surgery on top of everything else. I’ll wait.

Keep or Dump?

Simple decision, meet simple answer. Mike Glennon needs to be given a chance to further his career elsewhere, which will be his seventh NFL destination. Meanwhile, the Giants must pursue a reliable option to back Daniel Jones, a player that may need to compete with him for the starting spot with Jones come training camp this summer.

There are options out there for the picking that can be acquired for a price tag that doesn’t break the bank on a cap-strapped Giants team that is still in the process of shedding last year’s salary baggage.

A few names that come to mind are Teddy Bridgewater, who started for the Broncos this past season and did well against the Giants in the season opener, Jameis Winston, Jacoby Brissett, and Marcus Mariota.

There’s even Cam Newton (played for the Patriots and Panthers on a $6 million deal this past season) on the market, but that partnership might be volatile if Newton isn’t made the starter right away. And the Giants did just add Davis Webb back to their roster after Webb spent a few years in Buffalo with Brian Daboll.

No matter what route the Giants take, is there any one route not perceived as an upgrade to Mike Glennon? It sure doesn’t seem like it. 

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