Joe Judge on Daniel Jones: More questions than answers right now
Trainers check Giants quarterback Daniel Jones after an injury during the second half of NFL game against the Bengals on Sunday in Cincinnati. Credit: AP/Aaron Doster
The Giants are giving Daniel Jones every opportunity to prove he can play on Sunday, including a test drive of his injured right hamstring during Thursday’s practice. He spent time on the sideline doing some throwing and light running under the close observation of the medical staff and Joe Judge.
Unlike Sunday, when he first injured it against the Bengals and tried to hobble through it, Jones seemed less hampered by the hamstring and was able to push off that back leg.
"There are still a lot of questions more so than answers right now," Judge said after saying he received "positive reports" from the trainers after Jones’ work with them on Wednesday. "I know he’s doing everything he can to get back and be with the team. He’s preparing tirelessly, he’s in the building, he’s doing everything he can like it would be any other day. I know mentally where he’s at. We just have to check physically where he’s at and make sure we make the right decision for him."
But Jones still hasn’t practiced. He was listed as a non-participant again on Thursday, which meant backup Colt McCoy again ran the offense during the workout.
It also meant offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was busy "customizing" that offense for McCoy. While the playbook won’t change, the call sheet for the game might.
"I think the biggest thing you try to do for a backup quarterback is just try to create a comfortable environment for him," Garrett said. "I don’t know that it’s scale back or cut down. There’s nothing mentally or physically that Colt is not capable of doing. There’s a lot of plays in football. Let’s run the ones that our quarterback likes to run. You’re probably a little bit more sensitive to that with a backup quarterback who hasn’t had the backlog of reps that the other guys have had."
The Giants will have their final full practice on Friday before flying to Seattle on Saturday. It will give them one more chance to see the progress Jones is making.
"Obviously, we’re getting him ready to play right now," Judge said. "We have to wait and see where his body is at."
It also gives the team one more chance to work with the quarterback who remains the most likely to be on the field for the game.
Notes & quotes: Judge said regardless of whether Jones plays or not, he will travel to Seattle with the team (barring a setback or a sudden COVID-related reason for keeping him back). "We took Saquon [Barkley] earlier in the year to L.A.," Judge said. "He’s a captain and we wanted him out there with the team. Same with Daniel." . . . LB Cam Brown (illness) did not practice . . . Logan Ryan is the team’s nominee for the league’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
