New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (neck) has not been cleared for contact and is unlikely to play on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. Despite that, head coach Joe Judge remains optimistic Jones will return this season.
“I have nothing negative, nothing less optimistic about it, if that makes sense? I have no information to tell me that anything’s going in a different direction,” Judge told reporters on Monday.
Although Judge remains hopeful on Jones’ immediate future, his teammates don’t share in that optimism.
Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports that Giants players do not expect to see Jones on the field again this season.
It’s clear that Giants head coach Joe Judge and the medical staff are taking a week-to-week approach with Jones, sending him for different opinions and regular testing to compare images and look for progress in his injured neck. Jones flew home late Sunday to see team-affiliated doctors at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, after accompanying the Giants on a 10-day, three-city trip.
The results of those tests and Jones’ exact diagnosis remain unknown, but many Giants players expect that their quarterback eventually will be shut down for the rest of the season, sources told The Post.
With nothing left to play for, there’s really no reason to risk Jones’ long-term health — something Judge had adamantly denied after The Post previously reported Jones had suffered “structural damage” in Week 11 (later corrected it to Week 12).
The fact that Jones has already missed two games and is poised to miss a third seems to indicate the injury is more significant than a “neck strain.” He may be better off just calling it a day and attempting to come back stronger in 2022.
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