Getty Ex-Eagles quarterback Clayton Thorson.
When the New York Giants take the field at MetLife this Sunday for their season finale, they’ll be doing so without the services of their stopgap solution under center. As expected, the team officially ruled out Mike Glennon (wrist) on their final injury report after the veteran failed to practice all week. Glennon has started four of the last five games at quarterback for the Giants, going winless over that span.
With Daniel Jones already on the mend, the Giants will once again turn their offense over to Jake Fromm. The former Georgia standout recently made his first career NFL start for the team in Week 16, but lasted less than three quarters before being yanked after a 25-yard, one interception performance. Beyond Fromm, the lone in-house option the Giants have is practice squad quarterback Brian Lewerke. However, that could soon change.
On January 7, the Giants opened their doors to a familiar face, hosting Clayton Thorson for a visit/workout in East Rutherford. While a signing may not be “necessarily imminent” at this time, USA Today’s Art Stapleton tweeted that the understanding is that Thorson will likely remain in town as a potential “insurance signing” should anything happen to the team’s current quarterbacks between now and Sunday.
3rd Times a Charm?
Should Thorson receive a call within the next 24 hours or so, it would make the quarterback’s third stint with the organization and fifth stint within the division. A former fifth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2019, Thorson originally made his way to New York in September 2020 when the Giants reunited him with then-offensive coordinator Jason Garrett who served as his head coach with the Dallas Cowboys the year prior. Thorson was active for three games that season as an insurance policy for a hobbled Daniel Jones but did not log a snap during that time.
Northwestern’s all-time leader in attempts (1,696), completions (991), yards (10,731) and touchdown passes (61), Thorson has yet to attempt a pass in an NFL regular-season game. With that said, he did appear in one preseason game with the G-Men heading into this year, connecting on 5-of-16 passes for 72 yards and one touchdown. While head coach Joe Judge told reporters after the game that he saw “some bright spots” from the Illinois native, Thorson was ultimately beaten out by Lewerke for a practice squad spot.
The latest Giants news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on Giants newsletter here!
Sign up for the Heavy on Giants Newsletter!
Joe Judge on His Appreciation for Daniel Jones
While speaking with reporters on January 7, coach Judge was asked by reporters if he continues to receive updates on progress being made by Jones and whether the last five games have made him appreciate his quarterback all the more. Here’s what he had to say:
I appreciate all of our players who come to work every day and put it on the line, first off. And I didn’t need to lose Daniel to appreciate him. So, the answer is yes, I do appreciate him, but not because of something I haven’t had with Daniel. I appreciate him more for what he does every day in the building of how he comes to work and puts the team first.
In terms of the medical question to that, the answer is yes, I do get updates on where he’s at and then, as I said yesterday in the press conference with you guys on the patio, the updates of the frequency of imaging and things of that nature, those updates decrease a little bit. In terms of the amount and quantity and frequency of those images, they obviously decrease once you’re removed from playing status and put on IR. We do talk about our players all the time. I wouldn’t say it’s a daily update on Daniel at this point. We do talk at least once a week about how’s he doing. I talk to Daniel on a regular basis about how he’s feeling. Obviously, this is a guy who wants to be out there with the team. This is a guy that really wants to be out there and breaking the huddle himself, but he’s here supporting his teammates when he can’t do that.