Despite the negative feedback from his recent performances, it looks like the New York Giants are likely stuck with Mike Glennon for the rest of the year. That’s not because Glennon is the best option at QB, but because he’s the only experienced option the Giants have if Daniel Jones is shut down for the year. While there initially wasn’t much concern about Jones’ neck sprain, the injury has become the subject of more speculation as no return date has been placed on Jones yet.
The quarterback has also, perhaps more alarmingly, seen multiple specialists at this point for second opinions. In other words, this isn’t the kind of quick injury that will resolve itself through sitting out a couple games.
According to sources who spoke to the New York Post, the Giants players themselves believe Jones will end up shut down this year.
The results of those tests and Jones’ exact diagnosis remain unknown, but many Giants players expect that their quarterback eventually will be shut down for the rest of the season, sources told The Post. Jones likely missing a third straight game was first reported by The Athletic.
The rest of the season, fortunately, isn’t long. The Giants only have four games left at this point, guaranteeing that we won’t have to see much more of them without Jones regardless of what happens.
Looking ahead to if Jones is shut down
If Jones is shut down for the year, it brings up some interesting prospects for the Giants come the offseason. Mainly, it will intensify the current debate about acquiring a new quarterback. Whether it’s because Jones isn’t the franchise player in the long term or because more depth is simply needed, it’s looking harder for the Giants to not address the position next year.
After all, Jones has missed games for injury related reasons in all of his NFL seasons so far. And, especially if the offensive line doesn’t take a big step up, the organization shouldn’t expect that to just change next year. Picking up a quarterback in the draft, likely after the first round, may be on the table even if the Giants intend to keep Jones as the starter.
Of course, spending a second or third round pick acquiring a backup QB, or one to give Jones competition going into his fourth season, would be a controversial move. Before Jones, the Giants didn’t have the best record drafting quarterbacks to sit behind Eli Manning. Davis Webb and Kyle Lauletta come to mind as players drafted for this reason who never ended up doing something meaningful with the team.
Still, despite this track record, we’ve seen from this season that having Mike Glennon waiting in the wings isn’t enough. But what the Giants will do to resolve that may depend on who is selected as the next GM in 2022.