Giants QB Daniel Jones says offseason neck procedure 'unrelated' to 2021 injury
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) scrambles with the ball as he looks to pass against the defense during training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, NJ, on Monday, Aug 15, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner
Daniel Jones revealed on Thursday that he underwent an offseason procedure to his neck but insisted it had nothing to do with the injury that sidelined him for the final six games of last season.
“Absolutely not,” he said, calling it a “non-football” issue that he underwent in the early winter shortly after the regular season ended.
“Completely unrelated” to the neck injury, Jones said. “I feel good. Neck’s good.”
The procedure left a visible scar about two inches long at the front base of his neck. The scar is often covered by his T-shirt or jersey but occasionally can be spotted. It was the scar that led to the questions about Jones having surgery, which had previously been unreported.
He did not disclose why he had the procedure, only emphasizing it was not because of the injury that prevented him from sustaining contact until he was cleared to do so in the spring. Jones has not missed any practices in training camp, was on the field for all of the OTA sessions open to the media in the spring, and was active with teammates during private workouts throughout most of the offseason.
Jones took his first hits since that injury — and the unrelated surgery — in the preseason opener last week against the Patriots. He said after the game he came out of it feeling fine and said Thursday he had no ill effects from the hits in the days following.
“It was all good,” Jones said. “Didn’t have any kind of issues at all. It was good.”
After two poor practices earlier this week, Jones and the offense rebounded on Thursday.
“Daniel is doing a great job,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. “We’re throwing a lot at him offensively, he’s seeing a lot defensively, and that’s just going to help us.”
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.
