After missing the past two games to a high ankle sprain, New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones may be ready to get back under center this week against the Washington Redskins.
“He’s been making improvements. He got better last week, and then he was able to do much more today. He looked fine,” head coach Pat Shurmur told reporters Wednesday. “We just need to see how his ankle responds to the added work he did today, and then we’ll just take it from there. In the event he can’t start, certainly, we have a very experienced backup behind him.”
That backup, of course, is Eli Manning who we thought we saw the last of against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday. If it were up to Jones, he’d surely be out there come Sunday, but it’s not. The medical staff will make the call on that but should they greenlight Jones, he’ll be ready. He practiced in full on Wednesday, a good sign for him.
“It’s feeling better. I think I’m progressing well and doing more and more,” Jones said on Wednesday. “It feels good, just have to keep it going that way…It feels good, it feels like I can do everything I need to do. Keep working through and hopefully I can continue to improve throughout the week.”
Jones will get to face off against fellow draft mate Dwayne Haskins, who is now fully entrenched as the Redskins’ starter at quarterback.
Jones was selected sixth overall in last April’s draft and Haskins 15th. There was much talk that Washington was eyeing Jones at No. 17 and that is the reason the Giants selected him so high in the order. Many contended the Giants could have gotten Jones with their second first round pick (No. 17) but general manager Dave Gettleman said had first hand knowledge that Jones would not last that long.