Daniel Jones was diplomatic on Tuesday when asked to respond to the swipe taken at him by Browns QB Baker Mayfield.
"I try not to listen to much that's said," Jones explained. "I think I've done a pretty good job of that. ...I'm focused on what I'm doing here.'
On the method Mayfield took while bashing him, Jones said "I'm not sure I'd do it that way."
Jones added that he doesn't view the swipe as "a main motivator" for him to prove people wrong, that he doesn't know Mayfield, and that the comments from him came "a little bit" out of left field.
During the interview with GQ's Clay Skipper, Mayfield's eyes were drawn to a SportsCenter segment about the Giants. And he unloaded.
"I cannot believe the Giants took Daniel Jones," Mayfield said. "Blows my mind. ... Some people overthink. That's where people go wrong. They forget you've gotta win."
Teammate Dexter Lawrence said that Jones "deserves a lot more respect" and that he is "slightly" bothered that those around the NFL keep ripping Jones.
Head coach Pat Shurmur also weighed in on Mayfield's dig.
"That's not original commentary," Shurmur said, adding that Mayfield is "in a long line" of critics who ripped the Giants' decision to draft Jones with the No. 6 overall pick this past April.
While speaking about Mayfield's comments and what Jones' demeanor has been and will continue to be, Shurmur said to not "confuse calm and composed for a guy who is (not) competitive and a winner."
Shortly after the story where Mayfield bashed Jones came out, a Sports Illustrated cover story on the Browns featured quotes from Odell Beckham Jr., who claimed the Giants had better trade offers elsewhere but decided to send him to the Browns "to die."
Shurmur didn't take the bait on that one.
"Quite frankly, on our list of issues of the day, it really doesn't matter what Odell or Baker say. There's many other things that we should probably be discussing. ... we wish him well. It was a trade. We said that all along. I wouldn't comment on what he feels about the situation."
