Daniel Jones faces plenty of performance-related questions heading into the 2022 campaign, but his health remains a talking point as well. While he is on track to start Week 1 without issue, it was recently revealed that he went under the knife this spring. 

The Giants quarterback underwent a “non-football-related procedure” on his neck, reports Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. The surgery was done early in the offseason, Dunleavy adds, and has left Jones with a visible scar at the base of his Adam’s Apple.

The 25-year-old missed the final six contests of the 2021 season due to a neck injury. The fact that this procedure was deemed ‘non-football-related’ points to a separate issue altogether, though it is nevertheless a potentially concerning development given how much is riding on Jones being fully healthy and more productive this year.

To no surprise, the Giants declined Jones’ fifth-year option, leaving the strong possibility that he hits free agency at the end of the 2022 season. A significant improvement from the Duke alum – who has a 12-25 record, career completion percentage of 62.8% and only one more scrimmage touchdown scored (50) than total giveaways (49) – would be needed to avoid the team moving on in advance of a draft considered far better than this year’s with respect to signal-callers.

New York also has veteran Tyrod Taylor available should Jones miss significant time again. Ownership has publicly backed the latter as the unquestioned starter for at least one more year, giving him an opportunity under new head coach Brian Daboll to elevate his play closer to the level which was expected of him when he was drafted sixth overall. From a health standpoint at a minimum, his ability to play the team’s preseason opener without issue is an encouraging sign.

“It was all good” Jones said after the game against the Patriots. “[I] didn’t have any kind of issues at all.”

Many view 2022 as a make-or-break year for Daniel Jones. While there are questions surrounding his future beyond the upcoming campaign, he at least has the support of ownership for the present. 

As noted by Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, John Mara reiterated the team’s commitment to their incumbent starter amidst the flurry of big-name moves which have taken place at the QB position this offseason. As Mara said, “people are realizing it’s by far the most important position in sports and either you have one or you don’t. We think we have one.”

Schwartz does note that the Giants have made a move at the position already. The team signed veteran Tyrod Taylor earlier this month, adding an experienced backup with extended time as a starter in his previous NFL stops. The particulars of the deal (two years, $11MM) open the door to a competition for the starters’ job, but Mara remains confident that Jones can be successful under the right circumstances.

“We still have a lot of confidence in Daniel and think he’s going to be a very good quarterback if we just put the right pieces around him and give him a little bit more continuity and stability”, he said. “He hasn’t had that since he’s been here. Let’s give him a chance to prove himself. He’s shown flashes of it, for sure.”

In three years with Big Blue, the former sixth overall pick has a 12-25 record, 50 total touchdowns and a combined 57 turnovers. Instability at the coaching level, as well as injuries – including to the Duke alum himself this past year – throughout the offense have plagued his NFL career to date. It’s not a surprise, then, that the team is expected to decline his fifth-year option. Nevertheless, Mara said that a second contract for Jones “is certainly our hope”.

With sufficient improvement in 2022, Jones could very well see himself as the team’s starting signal-caller for the foreseeable future. Despite the evidence pointing to that being unlikely, that scenario is clearly still the team’s preference as of now.