New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones sat out his second consecutive game Sunday with a neck injury that he suffered earlier in the season.
As a result, his Giants were throttled by the Los Angeles Chargers for their ninth loss in 13 games to open the 2021 NFL season.
Unfortunately for Jones, it does not look like he will be back soon. In fact, there has to be concern that his injury is of the long-term variety.
Multiple media reports Sunday night indicated that the Giants flew Jones back east to see noted spine and back specialist Dr. Frank P. Cammisa Jr. He’s Chief Emeritus of the Spine Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.
This doesn’t seem to be a positive development for the young quarterback and his team. It also comes after Jones met with orthopedic spine surgeon Dr. Robert Watkins III in Los Angeles early last week.
Jones’ injury and concern growing for Giants
Ahead of Sunday’s game, head coach Joe Judge indicated that the Giants are going to be “very deliberate and cautious” with the injury -- for good reason.
Jones taking to the field before he’s 100% healthy could lead to a career-threatening injury. With the Giants playing out a lost season, there’s no real reason to rush him onto the field. It remains to be seen what the next step in the process is outside of Jones receiving yet another MRI when he meets with Dr. Cammisa in Manhattan.
What we do know is that Jones did suffer structural damage in the neck, which is why he’s meeting with a spinal specialist.
The sixth pick of the 2019 draft, Jones just has not lived up to expectations. He’s thrown 45 touchdown passes against 29 interceptions in 37 career starts. This season alone, the Duke product has thrown just 10 touchdown passes in 11 games while turning the ball over 10 times. Ouch!
Regardless of what happens with Jones, there’s a decent chance that New York will exhaust one of its two first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft on a quarterback. Remember, it acquired an additional first-rounder in a draft day trade with the Chicago Bears last April that enabled Justin Fields to head to the Windy City.
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