Daniel Jones' status for Giants vs. Commanders on Sunday remains uncertain

Daniel Jones, inactive with a neck injury he sustained against the Dolphins on Oct. 8, was an onlooker Sunday night against Buffalo when the Giants lost, 14-9.

This week, he hopes to play against the Commanders at MetLife Stadium.

As of Wednesday, that was not a sure thing.

“Just continue to feel better every day,” Jones said. “Feeling better overall and continue to do that every day.”

Jones, who is right-handed, has said there is pain on the left side of his neck and in his left shoulder.

Since the injury, Jones and coach Brian Daboll have said little about Jones’ health, aside from differentiating between this injury and the one that forced the quarterback to miss the last six games of the 2021 season.

That, of course, is good news.

On Wednesday, reporters were able to watch a portion of practice where Jones threw, rolled out, ran and operated much like you would see on gameday. The difference, of course, was that no defender was allowed to touch him.

“He’s been cleared to throw,” Daboll said Wednesday, ”so that’s what he’s going to do today is throw.” Jones was listed as a limited participant in practice.

Jones seemed in good spirits as he talked with reporters, his ability to practice clearly a positive step. If Jones isn’t cleared this week, backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor will start for the second week in a row.  

Taylor played the entire game against the Bills. “It’s a game-time decision as far as I know,” Taylor said. “I’m preparing myself mentally and physically as I do each and every week to be ready for the opportunity. There’s a lot of positives in all three phases to take from that [Bills] game,” Taylor said Wednesday at his locker. “We’re attacking those and we’re attacking our weaknesses as well, too. Just trying to be better this week.”

Jones spoke at his locker, as he usually does. He said he still feels the injury “a little bit” in his left shoulder. He also said he is “working through it and getting better day by day.”

“It’s just an effect from the neck injury," he explained. "But I feel good and am feeling better.”

One hurdle that Jones said he must cross is to be symptom-free.

“That’s part of it,” he said. “So, yeah, just continuing to try to get there. I’m close [to symptom-free]. I’m pretty close, and I’ve just got to continue doing what I’m doing and trust the doctors and trainers.”

Hesitancy lies in the fact that, if Jones falls again, it could become a considerable setback.

“The contact piece of it,” Jones said. “That’s the concern.”

Jones said he felt good throwing.

“I think it's just [a matter of] trusting the doctors and trainers when they say based on their evaluation that I'm ready for it. Obviously, you want to be out there. It’s frustrating not being out there. But just trying to do everything I can do and control what I can in terms of my recovery.”

If it was up to Jones, he said he’d play.

“Yeah, I mean, I want to play,” he said. “I certainly want to play. But at the same time, we've got great doctors, great trainers and I trust them. Lucky to have them. But yeah, everybody wants to play. Everybody wants to be on the field.”

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.