Giants Get Major Daniel Jones Update Ahead of Facing Raiders in Week 9

Quarterback problems have been mounting for the New York Giants, but there’s some relief in sight after Daniel Jones was finally “cleared for contact.” The starter has been dealing with a neck injury suffered against the Miami Dolphins in Week 5, but Jones now has a chance to face the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Week 9.

Jones “was actually cleared by doctors” on Sunday, October 29, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. The decision was made before backup Tyrod Taylor injured his ribs during the 13-10 loss to the New York Jets.

Taylor was taken to hospital, leaving undrafted free agent Tommy DeVito to take snaps. It led to a predictable offense based around 30-plus carries for running back Saquon Barkley.

Jones’ return should at least add an element of balance to the Giants’ offense. It’s what a 2-6 team needs to salvage whatever’s left of a disappointing season.

That’s assuming Jones can stay healthy and protect the football better than he was doing before his latest setback.

Daniel Jones Had Been Trending in Right Direction

Jones had been trending in the right direction to return, despite some speculation he might miss the rest of the season. Instead, No. 8 “took a good chunk of scout team reps at Thursday’s practice,” per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

The wait for Jones to be cleared for contract concerned the extent of his cervical neck injury. Specifically, how the ailment had impacted his left side.

As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero put it, “sources say Jones’ injury has caused significant weakness in his left (non-throwing) arm. The injury is healing, and Jones has regained a lot of the strength, but it hasn’t healed enough for Jones to be cleared for contact.”

Taylor having to stay in against the Jets would likely have been welcomed by some who viewed the Giants as more effective with the 34-year-old in the lineup.

Among them, Touchdown Wire analyst Doug Farrar detailed how Taylor made the passing game more expansive thanks to superior numbers on throws of 20-plus yards: “Jones — 2 of 9 for 89 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, no turnover-worthy throws, and a passer rating of 68.3.
Taylor — 5 of 10 for 160 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, no turnover-worthy throws, and a passer rating of 95.8.”

The Giants were anything but expansive against the Jets, even before Taylor left the field en route to hospital during the second quarter.

Giants Need Daniel Jones to Ease Saquon Barkley Reliance

It made sense for the Giants to lean on Barkley to an extent. Especially once third-stringer DeVito entered the fray, but head coach Brian Daboll and his staff might have been overdoing the running game in recent weeks.

Numbers from Dan Duggan of The Athletic, including Barkley’s 81 carries the last three weeks, show how overworked N0. 26 has been during Jones’ absence.

Daboll’s reluctance to call pass plays in the second half against the Jets contributed to the Giants mustering minus-nine yards through the air. Having Jones back should change things, if only by making things easier for Barkley.

Jones can take the heat off Barkley with his own mobility on designed QB runs. What the Giants really need is for Jones to be more accurate and efficient than he was pre-injury.

He’d thrown six interceptions compared with just two touchdowns. Opponents had even called out Jones’ tendency to stare down his first read.

The 26-year-old has been an easy target for critics, despite playing behind a dodgy offensive line, but the fact is this particular Giants team has a better chance of winning games with Jones on the field.