The neck injury saga for New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones saw some unique highs and lows over the past 48 hours.
It was initially reported that Jones could miss several weeks due to a neck strain suffered against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12. However, as Wednesday rolled around, Jones strapped up his helmet and took the practice field as a matter of his normal routine.
So what gives?
“Yeah, he’ll practice with us. Absolutely. He’ll be out there today. Really a normal Wednesday for him,” head coach Joe Judge said of Jones. “I’ve already made the point that I expect him to practice Thursday and Friday, as well.”
Jones was also made available to the media on Wednesday, which is significant because injured players are not generally put in front of the microphone.
“I think I’m going through the week preparing to play and getting myself ready to play, listening to the trainers and doctors. My job is to be ready to play, so I’ll go through the week like I always do,” Jones said.
“I think there are a number of things just the trainers and doctors want to see, but that’s not really – my focus is to continue to improve and get better, and then put that in their hands come this weekend.”
Jones was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. His backup, Mike Glennon, took several first team reps, but that’s not necessarily outside the norm in East Rutherford.
“We always prepare all of our players. Every week, Mike’s job is to be prepared that if his number is called at any point in time, either before or during the game, he’s ready to go in and run our offense,” Judge said. “We’ll do the normal rotation we always do every week. Mike takes rotations every week, so we’ll do the same thing.”
Judge and his gamesmanship… It never seems to end.
How Jones comes out of practice on Thursday and Friday will be telling, but early indications are that he’s going to give it a go. At the very least, Miami will have to prepare for two different quarterbacks with very different styles.
