Giants' Daniel Jones faces the most important season of his career
Injured Giants quarterback Daniel Jones on the sidelines against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 22, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
For Daniel Jones, the upcoming season is shaping up as the most important one of his career.
Jones is coming off a season in which he suffered a neck injury, tore an ACL and played in only six games.
In his career, he is 22-36-1 as a starter.
Before the draft, there was plenty of informed speculation that if Drake Maye had been available, the Giants almost certainly would have selected him. Instead, the Patriots drafted Maye.
And now Jones seemingly is in prove-it mode in 2024 — even if general manager Joe Schoen did give him a vote of confidence before the draft.
“When you go back and you watch the 2022 season or all of his throws in 2022, he was a 25-year-old player that played at a high level and won 10 games and won a playoff game,” Schoen said. “I’m still confident in Daniel, the way he’s wired, what he showed us in 2022.”
In that 2022 season, Jones stayed healthy. And the Giants won a playoff game against the Vikings.
Depending on your perspective, that season may seem like forever ago.
The Giants continue to say that Jones is progressing from his injuries. Few details have been gleaned, but the calendar is still on Jones’ side.
The Giants did sign Nathan Rourke earlier this month as a camp arm.
Coach Brian Daboll explained the move this way: “Thought it was a good claim. Joe put a claim in, we got him. Have another arm. Did some good stuff in the CFL and watched his stuff at Jacksonville. He was at the Patriots. Thought he was a good player to add.”
Rourke played for Ohio University and was a second-round pick in the 2020 CFL draft. He has not taken a snap in an NFL game.
Asked if the Rourke signing reflects on Jones’ ability to get on the field this spring, Daboll said it does not.
“[Jones has] been going through phase two” of the spring schedule, Daboll said. “We’ll see where we are at in phase three [of the offseason program]. We thought Nathan was a good to player to add to the roster.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
