Giants QB Daniel Jones practices without restrictions, likely to start Sunday
Daniel Jones #8 of the Giants looks on from the bench during the second half against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Daniel Jones doesn’t often emote when speaking to reporters in the locker room.
On Wednesday, Jones clearly was happy to be back as the Giants’ starting quarterback. Given the go-ahead on Sunday morning by medical professionals after sustaining a neck injury, Jones was a full participant in the first practice of the week.
“Yeah, I’m excited,” Jones said afterward. “Excited to be back in the swing of things and going through the week preparing to play. So yeah, I'm excited to be back.”
Asked how he felt, Jones said: “Recovered.”
Jones was injured when he was sacked against Miami in Week 5. He returns to a team that is 2-6 and has scored a league-low 95 points.
The Giants went 1-2 without him.
Coach Brian Daboll described Jones’ workload on the field Wednesday as “normal practice.”
“He’s been out here throwing so he’ll have his full workload this week,” Daboll said. “Once he’s cleared, he’s cleared and ready to go.”
Jones, who has now sustained two neck injuries in his career, was asked if he has — or will make — any modifications to his game.
“I'm going to continue to be aggressive and look for opportunities to run when they're there, and then be smart, get down and protect myself also,” he said. “That’s something I've always tried to do and [will] try to continue to improve at so, yeah, that won’t change.”
Does he feel tentative at all?
“No,” Jones said, “I’m not worried.”
Jones said his goal is to jumpstart the offense.
“I think we’re all focused on doing what we can to help make plays, score points, and do what we can to put the team in position to win games,” he said. “That’s what we’re focused on as a group, and we’re excited to do it.”
Over the past few weeks, Jones said his goal was not only to have his neck heal but also to stay in football shape and condition. He believes he accomplished both goals.
Interestingly, when asked if he was able to “reset mentally” as he recovered, Jones provided his longest answer.
"I don’t really see it that way," he said. "I think physically, obviously you want to be on the field too, but [you’re trying to] take advantage of some of the recovery stuff. But mentally, you want to be there, you want to be on the field. [I] certainly missed it.”
The return of Jones seems timely for the offense.
Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor filled in for Jones, losing to the Bills and defeating the Commanders. Taylor was knocked out of Sunday’s loss to the Jets with injured ribs and spent the night in the hospital.
Taylor did not practice Wednesday. Daboll reported that Taylor said he was feeling better and had a pending doctor’s appointment.
“Let’s see how this meeting goes with the doctors,” Daboll said. “Again, he says he’s feeling better, but he’s got to go meet with the doctor.”
Tommy DeVito, who finished Sunday’s game, was signed to the active roster on Tuesday.
And veteran Matt Barkley, who spent time in Daboll’s offensive system in Buffalo, was signed to the practice squad.
“Matt’s had familiarity in what we do and understands our terminology,” Daboll said.
Daboll recalled calling a game in Buffalo with Barkley that produced “a pretty good result.”
These days, one way or another, the Giants could use a few of those.
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.
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