New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has been banged up in recent weeks, missing several games due to hamstring and ankle injuries, and finding himself limited in the games he did play.
Although Jones lost the “ankle” designation in the team’s latest injury report, his hamstring issue persists. And while meeting with members of the media on Wednesday, the 23-year-old admitted that he still can not run and is essentially relegated to passing from the pocket.
“I’ll continue to work with the trainers and trust that program. I’ve played from the pocket the past couple weeks, and I expect to continue to do that until I’m healthy. We’ll see what exactly, but I expect the game plan and what I’m asked to do to be fairly similar to what it’s been these past few weeks,” Jones said.
An overshare? A bit of misdirection to confuse the Dallas Cowboys? Knowing Jones, it’s most certainly the former.
“I feel good, I feel healthy,” Jones said. “But I think you can tell from the tape that I’m not… I can’t do a lot of the same things I’m used to doing. I’ll continue to work and work to improve. But for the time being, I’ll probably have to adjust the way I play. I’ve been doing that the last few weeks.
“I certainly haven’t been as involved in the run game, certain areas of getting out of the pocket, scrambling, things like that. But I feel good. I feel a lot better, and I’ll continue to work with the trainers and improve.”
Head coach Joe Judge has previously stated the team will live with Jones’ current limitations and seemed to stick with that on Wednesday. Even in a must-win game against the Cowboys in Week 17, Judge has no plans to put Jones in harms way.
“Look, we’re going to do whatever it takes to win the game,” Judge said. “That being said, we’re always going to consider our players’ health as the priority. We’re going to work to not put our players in any situation where we put them at greater risk of injury. That comes to how we protect him, how we call plays, and how we execute on the field.”
The Giants could ultimately decide to set Jones loose, but if he’s genuinely injured or runs the risk of hurting himself more and potentially missing a wildcard playoff game, is it really worth it? Probably not. Plus, Jones played surprisingly well from the pocket in Week 16 and helped build confidence that he’s able to stand in there and deliver the ball.
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