Injuries to various skill-position players and a coordinator change already affected Daniel Jones‘ third season, a key audition for the former top-10 pick. The Giants are now preparing for their starting quarterback to miss extensive time.
Jones has yet to receive full clearance and is out for New York’s Week 13 game in Miami. Offseason addition Mike Glennon will start against the Dolphins. But the Giants are bracing for the prospect of Jones missing "several games" due to the sprained neck he is battling, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano reports.
Practicing in a limited capacity all week and took reps with the Giants’ first-stringers, Jones pushed for doctors to clear him for Week 13, Vacchiano adds. But his status going forward is uncertain.
When the Jones injury news surfaced earlier this week, he was labeled week-to-week. Joe Judge is sticking with that classification, indicating Friday the team has “no answers beyond that.” When asked if Jones’ season could end early because of this neck issue, Judge said the situation has not progressed to that point. That coming to pass could certainly alter the Giants’ quarterback plans.
On his sixth team in six years, Glennon started five games for the Jaguars last season. The Giants did not re-sign Colt McCoy, who caught on with the Cardinals and fared well during Kyler Murray‘s November absence. Signed off the Bills’ practice squad, ex-Georgia standout Jake Fromm is in line to be Glennon’s backup Sunday.
Big Blue is on track to miss the playoffs for a fifth straight season, but the team is just one game out of the NFC’s final wild-card spot. More importantly, an early Jones shutdown would deprive the Giants of seeing a potentially lengthy sample of their starter playing alongside Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney. The latter is doubtful for Week 13 but should be expected to return fairly soon.
The Jones-Jason Garrett partnership did not go well. The Duke product sits 25th in QBR. Jones’ 21 touchdown passes in the 25 games since his rookie season still trail his 2019 total (24). That output, achieved in 12 starts, ranks fifth among rookies in NFL history. Jones has shown flashes since but has largely not lived up to his No. 6 overall draft slot, but Barkley’s frequent unavailability and a low-end offensive line have affected the young passer as well. The Giants are also likely to have a new GM in 2022, injecting some uncertainty regarding Jones’ fifth-year option. That price stands to come in at more than $21M.
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