Giants' Adoree' Jackson eager to be on field after forgettable 2020 season

The Giants’ players had a day off on Sunday. For most, it was a relished opportunity to relax after a harsh first week in pads and recharge for the demands of the coming week.

One player who did not seem too eager for the respite was cornerback Adoree’ Jackson.

"You may be sore, you may be tired, but at one point [last year], I wasn’t sore and tired, I was just out," the cornerback said of his injury-plagued 2020 season with the Titans. "My mindset and everything changed from the injury of last year and being able to home in on myself. Not renew my faith, but keep my faith and make it stronger. I think that was a big thing that makes me able to come out here no matter what’s going on."

Jackson injured a knee in a practice just before Tennessee’s Week 1 game last year and was placed on injured reserve. The new rules made him eligible to return from IR in October, but he was not activated until November and did not appear in a game until Week 15 in December. He played a full allotment of snaps in Weeks 16 and 17 and the Titans’ playoff loss to the Ravens.

"It was a rough year for me," he said. "But I knew I was trying to stay strong, talk to my family and those around me, to those encouraging. It’s just tough. I’ve never been injured, and to not be able to do the things you love is tough. Sometimes you doubt yourself. But as long as you remain faithful and have some positivity around you, you’ll be all right."

Jackson said his recovery from the injury happened "over time" and that he did not feel completely comfortable about his knee until "sometime in the offseason or toward the end of the season." By the time he was getting back to normal, the Titans released him in the spring. He signed a three-year, $39 million contract with the Giants.

Jackson may be fully recovered, but that doesn’t mean the Giants are pushing him — or anyone — to the brink. He was one of the players who had their reps in practices contained a bit late this past week; on Friday, he participated in about half of the defensive snaps but on Saturday, he was back to full capacity.

"That was pre-planned right there with Adoree’ based on some of the things he’s done," coach Joe Judge said. "He’s had high loads early in the week. We just kind of look at the guy as a complete player, in terms of what his body has been doing. We look at not only what he’s done, but what we have coming up as well. I want to make sure they balance him as much as possible because we’re still in that point of training camp where we’ve got to acclimate these players and get him going forward. We’ve got to make sure they won’t just throw everything out at once and have their bodies react worse. We have to make sure we build them up."

Jackson understands. That doesn’t mean he likes the breathers, though.

"To be honest, it’s a blessing to be out here playing ball with the guys and see your teammates and see smiles and compete and to learn from each other," he said. "So no matter what’s going on, if it’s hot, cold, whatever it may be, I’m just happy."

Toney update. First-round pick Kadarius Toney saw his first reps with the starting offense in Saturday’s practice. He’d been eased back onto the field after his bout of COVID-19 early in training camp. "I see a guy who’s doing a good job taking it from the meeting to the field," Judge said. "For any young guy, it’s important to demonstrate that you can just hear the call, relay it, line up and play. He’s been really good in terms of transferring the material within the details, within the assignment." . . . The Giants claimed TE Jake Hausmann off waivers from the Lions and signed free-agent DB Chris Johnson over the weekend . . . The Giants also claimed WR Matt Cole off waivers from the Jets and waived WR Andy Jones.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

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.