Daniel Jones - Pro Football Rumors

Giants’ Saquon Barkley Suffers Ankle Injury

October 10th, 2021 at 5:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Giants running back Saquon Barkley had to be carted off after suffering an ankle injury in the first quarter on Sunday. Barkley was later ruled out for the game, along with quarterback Daniel Jones (concussion protocol) and wide receiver Kenny Golladay (knee).

Barkley’s left foot bent the wrong way after a collision with Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis. An overhead shot of the injury (Twitter link via Will Brinson of CBS Sports) showed severe swelling. That likely indicates a lateral inversion sprain, according to Dr. David J. Chao (on Twitter). Additional testing will confirm what Barkley is dealing with, but it sounds like he’ll miss a few games at minimum.

Jones was the next star to go after clashing helmets with linebacker Jabrill Cox. Mike Glennon stepped in for Jones, and he may get the call again next week if Jones needs additional time to recover. Now, Golladay has also been ruled out for the game, leaving the Giants offense severely shorthanded. Beyond those three, they’re already without wide receivers Sterling Shepard (hamstring) and Darius Slayton (also hamstring), plus left tackle Andrew Thomas (foot).

The Giants entered today’s game at 1-3, dead last in the NFC East.

Giants QB Daniel Jones Starting On Sunday

December 26th, 2020 at 10:17am CST by Ben Levine

Daniel Jones will be back under center for the Giants tomorrow. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the quarterback will start against the Ravens on Sunday.

Jones has missed a pair of games this season due to ankle and hamstring injuries, including last week’s loss to the Browns. While the 2019 sixth-overall pick was a limited participant this week, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the quarterback looked better in practice and is showing renewed energy. With Jones returning to the lineup, Colt McCoy, who has led the Giants to a 1-1 record in two starts, will return to his backup role.

Jones has struggled a bit during his sophomore campaign. While his completion percentage is up (62.6 percent), he’s only thrown for 2,462 yards and eight touchdowns (vs. only nine interceptions) in 12 games. For comparison’s sake, the 23-year-old compiled 3,027 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions during his rookie season.

Despite his inconsistent production, head coach Joe Judge made it clear that Jones is the Giants quarterback of the present and future.

“To me it’s a string of moments watching Daniel work,” Judge said (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). “Watching the respect he has in the locker room. Watching him lead throughout this season. I think he’s demonstrated a level of toughness and leadership and knowledge on the field that gives us confidence to put him out there and build with Daniel.”

Judge: Daniel Jones Is Giants’ 2021 QB1

December 23rd, 2020 at 6:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Daniel Jones is iffy to return for the Giants’ Week 16 game against the Ravens, and he his numbers have taken a steep dive in Jason Garrett‘s offense this season. But Joe Judge backed the current Big Blue starter as his 2021 quarterback.

When asked Wednesday about Jones’ status as the Giants’ starter beyond this season, Judge responded, “Daniel Jones is our quarterback.”

Kyle Shanahan took a similar route when asked about Jimmy Garoppolo‘s job, and Jones has two years remaining on his rookie deal and a 2023 option season. But the Giants received criticism since the start of Jones’ tenure — which began with a No. 6 overall pick — and have seen him struggle often in his second season. The Duke product threw 24 touchdown passes — fourth-most ever for a rookie — in 2019 despite making just 12 starts. Through 12 starts this year, Jones has thrown eight TD passes and has added 10 more fumbles to his eye-popping career total (28).

The Giants do not have to decide on Jones’ fifth-year option until May 2022, though those are higher-stakes decisions due to the options being fully guaranteed beginning with the 2018 first-round class. But the team is set to pick in the top half of the draft — barring major changes in the NFC East picture over the final two games — and would be in position to potentially add another quarterback.

“To me it’s a string of moments watching Daniel work. Watching the respect he has in the locker room. Watching him lead throughout this season. I think he’s demonstrated a level of toughness and leadership and knowledge on the field that gives us confidence to put him out there and build with Daniel, Judge said, via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan.

QB Colt McCoy To Start For Giants Tomorrow

December 19th, 2020 at 12:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Colt McCoy will get a chance to start against his former team tomorrow. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the veteran quarterback will start for the Giants vs. the Browns on Sunday.

Giants starting quarterback Daniel Jones tried to overcome his right hamstring strain and a left ankle sprain this week, but the second-year pro will ultimately be sidelined for his second game of the season. It’s a tough blow for a Giants team that’s attempting to remain in the postseason picture.

However, if you’re a fan of narratives, there’s something to be said of the fact that McCoy is playing his former team. The former third-round spent the first three seasons of his career in Cleveland, starting 21 games (all in his first two campaigns). Tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens, who will temporarily be taking over play-calling duties in place of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, will also have a bit of motivation against his former team tomorrow.

Following a six-year stint with Washington, McCoy joined the Giants this past offseason. He got a start during his team’s Week 13 win over the Seahawks, completing 13 of his 22 passes for 105 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. In three games, he’s completed 60-percent of his passes for 154 yards.

There is a bit of good injury news for the Giants. The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets that Evan Engram is expected to play tomorrow. The tight end had been listed as questionable with a calf injury. The former first-round has appeared in all 13 games for New York this season, hauling in a team-high 50 receptions for 526 yards and one touchdown.

Daniel Jones Expected To Return In Week 14

December 12th, 2020 at 1:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

The suddenly surging Giants are expected to have their QB1 back against the Cardinals on Sunday. Daniel Jones returned to full practices this week, and the team saw enough from its starter Saturday to clear him for a Week 14 return, Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets.

While Colt McCoy gave the Giants their first win over an above-.500 team in two years last week against the Seahawks, the veteran posted 105 passing yards on 4.7 per attempt. Jones has certainly enjoyed an up-and-down career thus far, but the second-year passer provides the Giants a higher ceiling from a passing perspective.

Jones suffered a hamstring injury in the Giants’ Week 12 win over the Bengals. It marked the second time in two years the Giants needed to replace their young starter. This, of course, is a change of pace for the NFC’s New York franchise. Eli Manning did not require an injury replacement in his 15-plus-year run as the team’s starter. The since-retired passer ended up filling in for Jones in two games late last season.

By virtue of their two wins over Washington, the 5-7 Giants remain in first place in the historically woeful NFC East. They still have three more games — against the Cardinals, Browns and Ravens — vs. winning opposition this year. Jones will return to action with just an 8-9 TD-INT ratio in 11 starts. This represents a steep drop from his 2019 production, when the Duke product’s 24 touchdown passes (in 12 games) were fourth all time among rookies. QBR does place Jones 16th, however, during this uneven season.

Injury Updtes: Callahan, Broncos, Jones, Giants, Linsley, Packers, Hamilton, Jaguars

November 30th, 2020 at 1:45pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got a batch of next-morning injury updates to pass along. Starting in Denver, where Broncos cornerback Bryce Callahan went down with a foot injury. Unfortunately, that injury will sideline him for a “significant” amount of time, head coach Vic Fangio said Monday, via Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link). Fangio said it was too early to tell if it would knock him out for the rest of the season, but that certainly sounds possible.

It’s a big blow for a Broncos team that has already been besieged by injuries. Callahan is an every down guy and one of their best players on defense. He’s in the second year of a three-year, $21MM deal he signed in March of 2019. He missed all of last season with a foot injury, although this new issue thankfully appears to be unrelated.

Here are some more health updates from around the league:

We heard last night that Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was feared to have a significant hamstring injury that could cause him to miss some time, but it sounds like things aren’t quite as bad as they seemed. Jones avoided major injury and has an “outside shot” at playing this Sunday, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). It appears it won’t be anything long-term, although Colt McCoy still seems like the favorite to be under center this coming weekend against the Seahawks. Every game is pivotal for Big Blue as they jockey for position in the pitiful NFC East.
Packers center Corey Linsley had to be carted off with a knee injury during the team’s win over the Bears last night, and fortunately it looks like a worst case scenario was avoided. That being said he’s not entirely out of the woods, as a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com that Linsley will miss some time with a knee sprain (Twitter link). Matt LaFleur told reporters he hopes Linsley can make it back for some of the regular season, but it sounds like he should at least be ready for the playoffs. Linsley has been the guy snapping balls to Aaron Rodgers for every game of the last four seasons, so this is a big loss.
The Jaguars fell to 1-10 yesterday, and the hits keep on coming. Rookie defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton had to be carted off against the Browns and while head coach Doug Marrone said today it wasn’t as bad as was initially thought, he’ll still be going to injured reserve with a knee issue, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Hamilton was the 73rd overall pick of April’s draft. The Ohio State product had been playing a big role in his first pro season, starting the last six games and playing around 60 percent of the defensive snaps.

Daniel Jones To Miss Time?

November 29th, 2020 at 5:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Giants are in the lead in the NFC East thanks to a tiebreaker over Washington, but they picked up a big injury during Sunday’s win over the Bengals when starting quarterback Daniel Jones went down.

Jones has a hamstring injury that is believed to be “pretty bad,” a source told Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Raanan adds that it could force him to miss some time, and if it’s actually “pretty bad,” that would almost certainly be the case. Jones will go for an MRI on Monday that will tell the full story. A hamstring injury is especially tough for Jones since his mobility is a huge part of his game.

The Giants have frequently used his legs to help spark the offense this season, and he already has 403 rushing yards on the year. He’s been active as a runner in pretty much every game, and his passing numbers would likely look a lot worse if he didn’t have that scrambling ability. The second-year pro struggled mightily early in the year but had been a bit better recently, with no interceptions in his past three games.

The sixth overall pick of the 2019 draft has eight touchdowns and nine picks through the air. If he has to miss any games, Colt McCoy will take over as the starter. He’s in his first year with the team and doesn’t have much of a relationship with OC Jason Garrett, so things could get rough. New York has a tough schedule coming up, including a trip to Seattle to take on the Seahawks next week. We’ll keep you posted once we hear more on the situation.

NFL Draft Rumors: Giants, Herbert, Tua

April 20th, 2020 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

Will the Giants actually consider quarterback Justin Herbert with the No. 4 overall pick, even though they already have Daniel Jones under center? The answer is no, according to Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network, though GM Dave Gettleman has been eyeing him for quite some time. Had Herbert entered last year, he would have been Gettleman’s top choice, Pauline hears.

Here’s a look at the latest draft rumblings from around the NFL:

In private conversations, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has indicated that Herbert is not actually in consideration for the No. 5 pick, a source close to Ross tells Pauline. That same source says the pick will either be used on Tua Tagovailoa or a position player, with Jordan Love being selected sometime later. If it’s a non-QB at No. 5, Pauline hears that tackle Andrew Thomas is the most likely choice.
Multiple NFL execs tell ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler that the Vikings are looking to move back. The Vikings own Nos. 22 and 25, but they could fill their needs at cornerback and wide receiver later on. In the second round, they should be able to land one of this year’s second-tier corners such as Utah’s Jaylon Johnson, LSU’s Kristian Fulton, or Alabama’s Trevon Diggs – the brother of former Vikes receiver Stefon Diggs.
Based on what we’ve heard, Washington’s Jacob Eason profiles as a Day 2 pick for QB-needy teams like the Patriots. He could also be a fit for teams looking to groom their next signal caller. One AFC exec pondered the possibility of Eason going to the Buccaneers, where the pure passer serve as the heir to Tom Brady. The Bucs own the No. 45 overall pick in the second round and Eason could be there for them, provided that teams like the Colts (No. 34) don’t pounce first.

Giants QB Daniel Jones To Start Week 16

December 20th, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Rory Parks

The Giants are turning back to their rookie signal-caller. After re-inserting franchise icon Eli Manning into the starting lineup while Daniel Jones was dealing with a high-ankle sprain, New York is once again handing the reins to Jones, head coach Pat Shurmur announced on Friday.

While the team obviously wants to give Jones as much experience as it can, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2019 draft has seen a lot of action this year, and one could argue that it doesn’t make sense to risk injuring him in meaningless games. Plus, the Giants do close the season at home, so fans certainly wouldn’t mind giving Manning one more sendoff.

Jones took over the starting role in Week 3 and has gone 2-8 in the games that he has started. He has shown plenty of promise and has thrown 18 touchdown passes while posting a 61.6% completion rate, but he has also struggled with turnovers. He has thrown 11 interceptions to go along with his 18 TDs, and he has fumbled an alarming 15 times.

Manning, meanwhile, is near the end of his career, though recent reports have affirmed that he does not want to retire at the end of the season. He wants to at least compete for a starting job in 2020, and he wants to play for a team that has a chance at the postseason.

In his four games this season, the two-time Super Bowl MVP has thrown for six TDs against five interceptions and has posted a quarterback rating of 82.6. The Giants have gone 1-3 in those games, with the one win coming against the 3-11 Dolphins on Sunday.

NFC East Notes: Manning, Redskins, Cowboys

December 9th, 2019 at 12:05pm CST by Rory Parks

Giants QB Eli Manning said back in April that he wants to continue playing in 2020, and as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes, the soon-to-be 39-year-old has not deviated from that stance. Manning, who was benched in favor of rookie Daniel Jones following New York’s Week 2 loss to Buffalo, is slated to start for the Giants on Monday night due to Jones’ ankle injury. And, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, Jones’ injury could force him to miss 2-4 weeks, so Manning could end up finishing out the season for Big Blue.

Manning’s contract with the Giants expires at the end of the year, and he knows he will need to go elsewhere if he wants to continue playing. However, he doesn’t want to just collect a paycheck, he wants to start, and he wants to start for a team that has at least some chance of cracking the postseason. Given that the 2020 QB market could be unusually strong, Manning may have a tough time finding such an opportunity, though his odds of doing so would improve dramatically if he plays well down the stretch.

Now for more from the NFC East:

The Redskins will be looking for a new HC this offseason, and Albert Breer of SI.com says several high-profile candidates have told Washington they will not go there if the structure of the organization does not change. It’s unclear exactly what that means, though head of football operations Bruce Allen would definitely scare away some candidates if he remains. Redskins owner Dan Snyder is considering parting ways with Allen, and he may have to do even more to attract the type of big-name coach that he is looking for.
The Cowboys have real interest in Urban Meyer as their next head coach, and Jon Machota of The Athletic offers a list of candidates that Dallas should take a look at. Meyer is at the top of the list, and despite the fact that the Saints just gave Sean Payton a healthy extension, Machota expects Jerry Jones to “try anything possible” to bring Payton to Dallas. Machota also names the recently-fired Ron Rivera as a possibility, though Rivera will surely attract plenty of interest from other clubs in need of an HC.
Redskins RB Derrius Guice is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain during Sunday’s loss to the Packers, and he may be done for the season.
Giants DL Leonard Williams believes he should be paid “top-tier money,” and if he doesn’t get it from New York, he is prepared to test the open market in 2020.