The New York Giants have seen three players opt out of the 2020 NFL season, but quarterback Daniel Jones will not be joining that group.
Prior to Thursday’s opt out deadline, Jones made it abundantly clear that his entire focus remains on the upcoming season, daily improvement and working to return a championship to New York. If that means taking some a calculated risk, then so be it.
“No, I do not plan to opt out,” Jones told reporters matter-of-factly. “It’s important to realize that everyone has different circumstances, whether it be family related or personally or whatever it may be. I certainly don’t have those situations. I live by myself and I’m healthy, but everyone has got to consider their own personal situation and I certainly respect that and expect people to do that and do what’s best for them and certainly don’t hold that against them.
“Obviously Nate (Solder) made a decision to opt out and he’s got an extremely tough circumstance and he’s got to do what’s best for his family. All the respect in the world, all the support in the world to him.”
Although Jones is not overly concerned with COVID-19, he is concerned with leaning a new offense and making sure he’s mentally prepared to lead his Giants teammates.
“Right now, I think my focus is on this camp and trying to make sure I am as prepared as possible mentally,” Jones said. “We have talked about a new system and a new offense to learn and pick up. So I think my focus right now is what we’re doing day to day here and trying to make sure we take the right steps forward and improving every single day.
“For me personally, I am doing a good job of picking up the offense and understanding what the coaches expect. Obviously want to improve on a lot of things from last year personally and as a team. In order to get there and to get there the right way, I think we want to focus on what we’re doing day to day in this camp.”
That has been Jones’ mindset since the literal moment the 2019 season came to a close. And while he’s currently focusing on his mind, the second-year quarterback had previously focused on his body.
Jones added nine pounds of muscle to his frame this offseason, which is evident in both pictures and videos being shared from training camp.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m as strong as I’ve been. I feel like I’m in good shape. I was in Charlotte for most of the offseason and training there,” Jones said. “I wanted to get stronger and wanted to gain some weight for what that does for every part of my game, standing in the pocket, running when I need to, and obviously throwing the ball as efficiently as I can using my strength, my lower body. Each piece of that was part of the goal of the offseason in my training.”
Jones played last season at 220 pounds and is currently up to about 229.
With both his mind and body sharp, and his focus remaining where it is, the Giants hope to see Jones make a big leap in 2020.
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