EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones are holding out hope he can play Sunday against the Miami Dolphins despite a neck injury.
Jones confirmed Wednesday he suffered a neck strain — nothing more — in Sunday’s 13-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s keeping open the possibility of being ready by the weekend.
“Yeah, I think I’m going through the week preparing to play,” Jones said after being a noncontact participant in practice. “Getting myself ready to play.”
The Giants (4-7) will have both Jones and backup Mike Glennon take reps this week at practice. A source told ESPN on Wednesday it is 50-50 whether Jones would be able to play. Glennon would start if he can’t.
Jones is expected to have a late-week checkup on his neck that should help determine whether he has to miss a game.
“We’re not going to rule anything out right now,” coach Joe Judge said Wednesday morning. “Daniel is going to be out here practicing [Wednesday]. He’ll practice [Thursday] and Friday as well. We’ll see what he can do. … Really, a normal Wednesday for him.”
Jones was believed to be injured while running the football Sunday on the second play. He said there wasn’t really soreness until after the game. Judge didn’t know about the injury until the team put together its postgame injury report on Monday.
Jones, 24, underwent tests and treatment the past two days. After an initial scare, he is improving.
“Feeling good. Getting better every day,” Jones said. “Trying to listen to what the doctors and trainers are telling me. But I’m doing good.”
This could be the third straight season that Jones has been forced to miss a game late in the season. He had a high ankle sprain as a rookie, a hamstring injury last season and now there is the concern with his neck.
Jones never seemed to think this would be a long-term problem. The Giants play the following week in Los Angeles against the Chargers.
“I think there are obviously a series of tests and conversations with doctors and I always understood it to be something I can recover from and get back out there,” he said.
Not much will change for Jones this week. He will technically be a noncontact participant in practice, but that is not much different than every other week when nobody is allowed to hit the quarterback. He is expected to be listed as limited.
This latest injury only highlights the difficulty of being a mobile quarterback and remaining healthy for the duration of what is now a 17-game season. Jones earlier suffered a concussion that forced him to miss the second half against the Dallas Cowboys while trying to run the ball into the end zone. This time, Jones was running the zone-read and was hit near the neck/head following an awkward slide.
“I think it can be [difficult]. I can definitely … something I’ve been focused on this season is to do that and to get down and avoid some of those hits,” Jones said. “Just have to continue to do that. It can be tough at times but it’s something you have to be able to do.”
Jones has completed 63.4% of his passes with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He’s 25th in the NFL with a QBR of 40.9.
The third-year quarterback has rushed for 298 yards and two touchdowns.
Glennon, 31, went 16-of-25 passing for 196 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in (mostly) the second half of the blowout loss to the Cowboys. His last win as a starting quarterback came during the 2017 season with the Chicago Bears.