There was never a doubt in the minds of the Giants that Daniel Jones would be their starting quarterback for the 2023 season.

They wanted more, though.

They wanted him around for the foreseeable future, and now they have him.

Jones and the Giants on Tuesday agreed to terms on a four-year, $160 million contract.

With a 4 p.m. deadline for the Giants to apply the franchise tag on Jones — a scenario neither side wanted — this deal arrived just in time for the Giants to go about their business this offseason knowing Jones, 25, is secured for a price that allows the team salary cap flexibility.

That flexibility will be helpful in retaining the services of running back Saquon Barkley. 

With Jones taken care of, the Giants will use the franchise tag on Barkley, which will pay him $10.1 million for this season, if a multi-year deal cannot be worked out. 

The Giants in early November, during the bye week, offered Barkley a three-year deal averaging $12.5 million annually and they are not inclined to go much higher than that. 

Barkley does not want to play on the tag and it remains to be seen if a compromise can be found.

“We want them both back,” general manager Joe Schoen said. “I think they work well with each other. I do think they complement each other well. The goal is to hopefully get something done.”

After the Giants met with Jones’ agents several times last week in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine, enough progress was made for the two sides to meet face-to-face on Monday in New Jersey.

For Jones, this is validation. 

He was an unpopular selection among fans when the Giants took him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the choice of the previous front office. 

Jones had modest numbers and did not do much winning at Duke but the Giants liked his physical traits, mental acuity and personal makeup.

Jones was tasked with replacing franchise icon Eli Manning, a seismic shift that hit in Week 3 of Jones’ rookie year. 

Jones threw 24 touchdown passes as a rookie but also threw 12 interceptions and lost 16 fumbles. 

He went 3-9, 5-9 and 4-7 in his first three years as a starter, playing for two different head coaches in two different offensive systems.

The new decision makers, Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, arrived with no allegiance to Jones. 

Schoen’s first major decision was to decline picking up Jones’ fifth-year option — which would have paid Jones $22.5 million in 2023 — making the 2022 season a prove-it challenge for Jones. 

He stayed healthy for an entire season for the first time and established career highs in completion percentage (67.2), passing yards (3,205), passer rating (92.5), rushing (708 yards) and rushing touchdowns (seven). 

More importantly, Jones showed Daboll he could win games, as the Giants went 9-6-1 in Jones’ 16 starts (he was held out of the season finale). 

Jones was sensational in the 31-24 playoff victory over the Vikings in Minneapolis before the season came to an end the next week in Philadelphia.

Schoen said there was no one game or one play that convinced him he wanted to re-sign Jones to a long-term deal.

“It was an ongoing process,” Schoen said. “We evaluated every game that he played all the way up through the playoffs. We felt good at the end of the season that he’s a guy that we’d like to back moving forward and be our guy.”

After playing out his four-year, $25.6 million rookie deal, Jones parted ways with his agency, CAA, and hired Athletes First for these negotiations. 

His initial asking price soared above $45 million per year — it might have reached as high as $48 million — but those were never going to be workable numbers for the Giants.

The Giants owned the leverage of the franchise tag, which would have paid Jones $32.4 million in 2023 and given him no security beyond this season. 

The Giants did not want to use nearly 70 percent of their salary cap space — they are estimated to have $50 million heading into free agency — on Jones.

Now they do not have to. The two sides made sure of that.