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Giants QB Daniel Jones Placed on Injured Reserve: What's Next at Quarterback?

Daniel Jones will miss the rest of 2021 with a neck injury suffered in Week 12 against the Eagles.

Patricia Traina

Giants QB Daniel Jones Placed on Injured Reserve: What's Next at Quarterback?
Giants QB Daniel Jones Placed on Injured Reserve: What's Next at Quarterback? /
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The New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones held out hope for as long as possible that he might be able to return from a neck injury suffered on the second play in Week 12 against the Eagles, but it's just not happening.

The team announced that Jones has been shut down for the rest of the season. The quarterback's neck issue has not shown enough improvement for doctors and specialists to arrive at a consensus to clear him for contact.

"Over the course of the past few weeks, Daniel has been examined by Dr. Frank Cammisa of Hospital for Special Surgery and Dr. Robert Watkins of the Marina Spine Center at Marina Del Rey Hospital," said Giants Senior Vice President, Medical Services/Head Athletic Trainer Ronnie Barnes in a team-issued statement.

Daniel Jones
Should Giants Exercise Daniel Jones's Fifth-year Option? :: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Two different NFL analysts and former Giants players vary in their opinion. Plus a third, NFL Network analyst and former quarterback David Carr, weighs in on what Jones can do to help make the decision easier.

Giants Joe Judge Feels Good About Daniel Jones's Future / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Judge sounds willing remain committed to Daniel Jones even though the team might not be able to complete its evaluation of the third-year signal caller this season.

Jake Fromm Realizes Dream of Playing in NFL / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Fromm makes his NFL debut during garbage time of Giants' 21-6 loss to Dallas.

Joe Judge Says Jake Fromm Needs to Do This to Earn Game Snaps / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Giants head coach Joe Judge appears to want people clamoring to see Jake Fromm to slow their roll until Fromm is deemed ready to play.

"Our medical team has continued to consult with Dr. Cammisa and Dr. Watkins regarding Daniel's condition and symptoms, and at this point, Daniel has not been cleared for contact. We felt the prudent decision was to place Daniel on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. With continued rest and treatment, we expect a full recovery."

Giants head coach Joe Judge echoed Barnes's statement, especially about the optimism surrounding Jones's prognosis.

"Based on the information from the medical team and their belief in the timetable for Daniel's full recovery and their belief with rest and treatment, that he'll return to full health," Judge said Monday during a conference call with reporters.

"They've deemed that the remainder of this, he be shut down to give that time to heal. They remain adamant saying that with all information we've been given from the doctors involved and the medical team that there is no at this moment, concern for a long term injury that this is more of a, you know, precautionary measure to make sure that something isn't aggravated or agitated before it's healed and doesn't turn into something that is chronic or long term."

Jones's third season ends with completing 232 out of 361 passes (64.3 percent) for 2,428 yards, ten touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

This spring, the Giants will need to decide if they will be picking up Jones's rookie season option for 2023.

That decision will likely be made by a new general manager in collaboration with head coach Joe Judge, who has already thrown his support behind Jones as the team's starter moving forward and now with input from the medical side of the house.

Judge didn't want to commit now, given that the decision, due the week after the draft, is still months away, but he reiterated that he'd seen enough from Jones to feel comfortable moving forward with him as the team's quarterback.

"Again, we expect the full recovery, and our vision would be to move forward Daniel in the future. Look, I'll let the business part take part of the business part.

"We're always looking at our depth charts and rosters, not just for this year, but as they go in the future years. And you can only do that based on what the current contracts lock into. So as we get to the free agency part and the draft part we'll address that."

As for the rest of the season, Judge said that the coaching staff would evaluate Mike Glennon, the no. 2 quarterback who's been the starter in Jones's absence, and youngster Jake Fromm, who came in for Glennon in garbage time last week against Dallas and make a decision as to who will start.

"Jake did enough to be in consideration," Judge said. "We'll see how this week a practice goes. There's a big difference between starting an entire NFL game and coming at the end of the game when a team is playing more of a two-minute prevent mode.

"That's not a knock on Jake; it's the reality and truth. So we'll get Mike and Jake ready for this week and we'll make the determination who's going to start at a later time."

In other roster moves, the Giants announced that they placed receiver Sterling Shepard on injured reserve. Shepard ruptured his Achilles tendon in Sunday's loss to the Cowboys. New York filled the spots with linebacker Jaylen Smith and defensive back Jarren Williams.

Lastly, defensive back/special teamer Keion Crossen has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over 30 seasons for multiple media outlets, including Inside Football, Fan Sided, SB Nation, The Athletic, Forbes, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated).  In addition to being a credentialed member of the New York Giants press corps, Patricia has covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. Patricia’s late father was a long-time New York Giants season ticket holder who helped instill her love and appreciation of the game and the franchise at a very early age.  She was able to parlay that knowledge of Giants franchise history into her first published work, The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants (Triumph Books, September 2020). She has enhanced her knowledge of the game by completing two semesters with the Scouting Academy and taking a course in NFL salary cap management. In addition to her work with Giants Country, Patricia is the host of the very successful LockedOn Giants podcast (also available on YouTube), featuring analysis, interviews, and Giants fan interaction. Patricia is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America and has participated in the mentoring of aspiring journalists. Patricia holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature (with a minor in creative writing) and a Master’s degree in Corporate Communication. She is a certified resume development specialist (corporate, military transition, and federal) and interview coach who enjoys music and creating fan art featuring her favorite bands. 

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