Even though it is just training camp, the New York Giants and their fans are going to be keeping a close eye on quarterback Daniel Jones, who is returning from a torn ACL suffered during last season. Jones’ first full practice since the injury wasn’t a smooth sailing ship, which could leave people concerned about how he will perform in the regular season fresh off of a major injury.
Daniel Jones had some early struggles in his first two practices of training camp
The Athletic’s Dan Duggan broke down Jones’ performance from the first day of Giants camp in his training camp takeaways, highlighting the positives and negatives from his on-field work.
“Daniel Jones, at times, looked like a quarterback taking team reps for the first time since tearing the ACL in his right knee eight months ago,” Duggan wrote. “He had a few off-target incompletions and mostly threw short passes Wednesday, but just being on the field with no limitations was a major accomplishment. Jones, who only participated in seven-on-seven periods during the spring, looked healthy when scrambling away from pressure in the pocket and said his knee felt good.”
Entering the offseason, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Jones’ availability for the Giants’ season opener against the Minnesota Vikings scheduled for Sept. 8, but he has recovered fast from his ACL tear and all signs are pointing to him being available. The team elected not to draft his replacement in the draft, essentially giving him one last chance to prove he can stay healthy while also performing at a high level.
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It is not time for the Giants to panic about Jones just yet
Everyone’s wish would’ve been that Jones had a stellar first two practices in camp, but expecting him to perform amazingly in his first practices returning from a serious lower leg injury would be an unfair expectation placed on him. The time to start formulating how his season could go would be after some preseason action, as that will be the first look at him playing at game speed since the injury.
The most important thing, however, is that Jones is healthy and able to partake in practices with his team. His lengthy injury history and struggling performances on the field throughout his career have raised lots of questions about his future, so this season he will be looking to make a statement that he belongs with the franchise long-term.
Jones described how he felt following his first practice in camp, which could raise some optimism that he will be re-acclimated into the flow of the game fairly quickly.
“I felt good doing that,” said Jones via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. “That’s all stuff at this point I practiced a lot, repped a lot in drills. Been a big part of my rehab. So felt good doing all that stuff.”
There is still a lot of camp left for the Giants to play as well as a full preseason, so now is not the time to overlook a rocky performance during the first two days of training camp. As time goes on, the hope will be that Jones regains his footing in time for Week 1 and can deliver a solid performance throughout the regular season.
