Daniel Jones Avoids Serious Neck Injury; Giants QB To Miss Week 6

OCTOBER 13: Daboll confirmed the previous suspicions; Jones will not play in Week 6. The fifth-year quarterback has not practiced this week, having not received medical clearance. While this is not believed to be a serious injury, Jones’ 2021 absences and 2022 neck surgery make this a must-monitor situation. Taylor, the Bills’ starter for three seasons, will face his former team Sunday night.

OCTOBER 12: A neck injury ended Daniel Jones‘ 2021 season, leading to one of the worst stretches in Giants history. That Jones-less period ended with Joe Judge and Dave Gettleman losing their jobs. While Jones bounced back last season and now has a big-ticket contract, he is again battling a neck injury.

Jones left the Giants’ Week 5 loss to the Dolphins, and while he has expressed optimism, he added (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan) he is not yet cleared to practice. The Giants are likely to start Tyrod Taylor against the Bills on Sunday night, per the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard.

Although Jones is moving toward missing Week 6, he does not believe this is shaping up as a long-term concern. X-rays and a follow-up examination produced a positive outlook, the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz tweets. The former top-10 pick missed the Giants’ final six games in 2021 and underwent surgery. Brian Daboll said Jones has experienced lingering soreness, and considering the Giants’ present state and what they have invested in Jones, it would make little sense to rush him back.

I think it’s a different injury, a different circumstance,” Jones said, via Leonard. “So I’m not really comparing it to that a couple years ago. But this was the advice from the doctors and trainers, so I’m gonna follow that.”

The Giants have discussed adding another veteran QB, Schwartz notes. Only former UDFA Tommy DeVito is in place — on the practice squad — behind Taylor. The Giants have used Taylor, Colt McCoy and Mike Glennon as their backups over the past four seasons. The move from McCoy to Glennon in 2021 helped key that brutal season-closing span that ended with Judge’s ouster. Taylor is one of the NFL’s most experienced backups, making his name as a three-year Bills starter. The Giants have the 13th-year veteran on a two-year, $11MM deal.

Despite not picking up Jones’ fifth-year option in 2022, the Giants circled back to him via a four-year, $160MM accord just before the March deadline to apply franchise tags. They were the first team to decline a QB’s fifth-year option and then re-sign him. The 11th-hour signing prevented the team from needing to tag Jones, allowing a Saquon Barkley tag. The Giants, however, have not followed up their divisional-round surge with competency. They are 1-4, rank 31st in scoring offense and have allowed Jones to be sacked 16 times over the past two games. Given the state of Big Blue’s offensive line, Jones being sent back out there at less than 100% would be a strange ask.

The Giants are unlikely to have Andrew Thomas back, per Schwartz. The All-Pro left tackle has missed four games with a hamstring injury, suffering a setback midway through his recovery process. They played last week without starting center John Michael Schmitz and fill-in guard Shane Lemieux.

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