Two days before Christmas, here the Giants are, in Week 16, preparing to face the Philadelphia Eagles on the road this Sunday with a record of 4-10 and in last place in the NFC East. They are without their starting quarterback, Daniel Jones, who has not played since facing the Eagles on Nov. 28 in a 13-7 Giants win. The 24-year-old Jones sustained a neck injury in that game, the last Giants victory as they are on a three-game losing streak.
He finished the game but has played another snap and on Monday the team announced Jones is done for the season. Essentially, so is the team collectively. They will end their disappointing campaign on Jan. 9 versus the Washington Football Team at MetLife Stadium with a losing record for the fifth year in a row.
In a statement released by the Giants, they determined shelving Jones was a necessity. “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 Ronnie Barnes, the Giants’ senior vice president of medical services, who started with the Giants in 1976 as an athletic training intern and in 1981 became the NFL’s first-ever African American head athletic trainer.
“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.”
Jones, in his third season after being drafted No. 6 overall by the Giants in 2019, will end this season playing in 11 of the Giants 17 games with a stat line of 2,428 yards passing, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Jones has sat out games every season due to injury since taking over as the starter for Eli Manning in Week 3 of his rookie year. Two in both 2019 and 2020.
Before the start of this season, it was virtually unthinkable for much of the Giants fanbase that the team would not exceed their 2020-21 win total of six games. Not with an additional game added to the 2021-22 NFL regular season schedule, increasing the number of games for each of the league’s 32 teams from 16 to 17.
Not with an infusion of talent on the offensive ball including the signing of 2019 Pro Bowl wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who topped the NFL in receiving touchdowns (11) the same year, and the drafting of dynamic wide receiver Kadarius Toney with the 20th overall pick in the first round. Not with a defense led by coordinator Patrick Graham that was playoff caliber a year ago and added cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who was a standout for the Tennessee Titans from 2017-2019. Jackon played only three games last season for the Titans due to injuries yet was deemed healthy by the Giants and signed to a three-year, $39 million contract in the offseason.
Golladay (3), Toney (5) and Jackson (3) have been sidelined for a combined 11 games. Jones’ progress was stagnant. Head coach Joe Judge has not distinguished himself as the team’s potential long-term leader. General manager Dave Gettleman undoubtedly will not return. They are just several reasons among many others why the Giants will soon be engaged in another exhaustive offseason of extensive reconstruction.