Getty Daniel Jones #8 of the New York Giants throws a pass in the second quarter against the Washington Football Team.
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, still dealing with a hamstring injury, was clearly hobbled in his return to the starting lineup this past Sunday. Absorbing six sacks and being hit nine times against the Arizona Cardinals certainly didn’t help his cause. In fact, it looks to have led to a new injury.
According to head coach Joe Judge (h/t ESPN’s Jordan Raanan), Jones suffered a second “lower leg” issue coming out of the 26-7 loss to the Cardinals. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the injury is believed to be a sprained ankle, an injury which was sustained in the second quarter of last week’s game. Rapoport also added that Jones’ status for Sunday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns is “in doubt.”
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Coach Judge Discusses Jones’ Status for Sunday Night
Coach Judge had a slightly more positive outlook on his quarterback when chatting to members of the media ahead of Wednesday’s practice, claiming “he’s optimistic” on his quarterback’s status. Judge added that “we will see where he’s at this week, starting today.”
In terms of specifics, in typical Judge fashion, he kept details closed-lipped, referencing Jones’ reported ankle injury simply as a “lower leg” injury.
“I haven’t decided either way with Daniel,” Judge said of Jones’ Week 15 status. “I’ll go ahead and answer that right now. He came out, there’s really nothing worse for the wear with the previous injury. He did come out with some bumps and bruises. There’s another lower leg issue we’re dealing with right now. We’re going to go ahead and move him around in practice today, see where he’s at. I’m going to give him an opportunity this week to work through practice and see how he moves and how he reacts to things.”
“Again, if he can defend himself properly in the pocket as I’ve said before on how I’ll handle it, if he’s not at risk beyond any normal game, then we’ll go ahead and give him the opportunity to play,” Judge said. “If we think that’s an issue, that he can’t go out there and defend himself, then we’ll make the best decision for him long-term and the team as well.”
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Is Playing a Limited Jones Worth It?
While Judge treads along the workweek with optimism that he will have his starting quarterback at his disposal come this weekend, the real question is, is it worth trotting out an injured Jones? As Giants fans hope Jones can one day become a certified franchise quarterback for what he does with his arm, it’s his mobility that keeps defenses on their toes and opens up the rest of the playbook for New York.
For the first time in Jones’ 25-game career (24 starts), he did not log a single rushing attempt. In return, there was no mystery to New York’s offense, leading receivers to be blanketed for much of the evening. Jones would finish the game completing just 11 of his 21 pass attempts against the Cardinals. The 11 completions mark a new career-low for Jones, who’s previous low of 12 completions came back in a Week 6 victory over Washington.
If Jones can’t give it a go this Sunday, New York will once again call on veteran Colt McCoy to man the gig under center. McCoy led Big Blue to a massive upset over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13, completing 13 of 22 passes for 105 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Clayton Thorson, Alex Tanney and Joe Webb are all in the running to serve as McCoy’s backup should Jones miss this week’s game against Cleveland.
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