New York quarterback Daniel Jones probably won’t ever admit to this, but not a day goes by when he doesn’t feel the heat to justify the team’s strong belief in him as its franchise quarterback.
So it is no surprise that Jones, recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL, has been vigorously attacking his rehab with an eye on being ready by the time the team opens its training camp later this year.
“Yeah, he’s doing well,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio hosts Alex Marvez and Bill Polian during this past week’s Senior Bowl practices.
“He’s running in a pool now, so he’s progressed to that, and he’s in there every day working hard. I’ve said it multiple times: he’s a kid; you’re gonna have to pull back. He’s in there by 6:30 or 7:00 every day. He’s already getting his workout in every day. So he’s gonna work hard at it, and we’re hoping he’ll be ready to go once camp starts.” While that sounds promising for Jones and the Giants, Schoen still doesn’t plan to sit on his hands and not address the position. He has said countless times that adding another quarterback to a room that, besides Jones, includes Tommy DeVito, is atop the team’s to-do list, as backup Tyrod Taylor is set to be a freeBut the real question on everyone’s mind, which will start to gain clarity once free agency begins on March 13, is whether the team truly believes Jones is the answer moving forward. In limited action last season, Jones played his worst football, prompting loud cries from a segment of the fan base for the team to get a franchise quarterback in this year’s draft. But Schoen, when asked about Jones’s struggles and if the revolving door at offensive line was a factor, seemed ready to give the former Duke signal caller a pass, noting that the offensive line issues often led to Jones getting out of the pocket too early and messing with his timing.
“Again, it was a revolving door there,” Schoen said. “I think it was the Miami game–we had three guys on the practice squad that had to play in the game. So when you get that far down the roster, you’re talking about your sixth offensive tackle who plays in the fourth quarter of the last preseason game. “So it’s hard when you’re playing against playoff caliber teams with those types of guys. So yeah, it was a little bit of the time in the pocket, the timing with the receivers.” Schoen also pointed to the new players the team brought in during the off-season, such as tight end Darren Waller and receiver Jalin Hyatt, all of whom, remember, didn’t get much work with Jones and
So it’s hard when you’re playing against playoff caliber teams with those types of guys. So yeah, it was a little bit of the time in the pocket, the timing with the receivers.” Schoen also pointed to the new players the team brought in during the off-season, such as tight end Darren Waller and receiver Jalin Hyatt, all of whom, remember, didn’t get much work with Jones and the starting offense in the preseason games. “You’re trying to get your timing down, trusting and reading the body language of players. That, and the offensive line being a revolving door, and it was a little bit of the perfect storm,” Schoen said. According to the general manager, the schedule at the start of the season didn’t
