One of the biggest questions surrounding the New York Giants as they prepare to open their 2024 training camp is whether or not embattled quarterback Daniel Jones will be ready for the season.
Jones, speaking on the Simms Complete podcast this week with former Giants quarterback Phil Simms and his son, Matt, said he’s ready to hit the comeback trail after missing the last half of 2023 with a torn ACL.
“At this point, I’m doing pretty much everything — running, cutting, everything I need to do,” Jones said, as transcribed by the New York Post. He also intimated that his rehab has been going “smooth” and he had experienced “no setbacks.”
Jones knows this is his last chance to prove himself to Giants management. He’s entering his sixth season and the second since he signed a whopping four-year, $160 million contract extension. It’s now or never for Jones.
“I expect a lot of myself, I expect a lot of the team,” Jones said, “and what’s going on outside that is not necessarily something that is going to drive me.”
The elder Simms is no stranger to what Jones is going through. He struggled through the same type of injuries and underperformance for his first five seasons. It wasn’t until his sixth season that he settled into the job and took the Giants to great heights.
Jones has frustrated his head coach, Brian Daboll, to the point where Daboll has dressed him down publicly on the sidelines. Simms had that happen to him quite often, too. Bill Parcells used to ride Simms pretty hard with one exception — Simms fought back.
“Maybe I’ll try that out. If it doesn’t go well, I’ll tell Dabes it was your idea. … I’ve been coached hard my whole career, and I certainly don’t mind it,” Jones said.
Anything will be better than what happened last year. Jones knows his 2023 was a disaster and that has led to a low confidence level in him heading into this season.
But he’s ready to turn things around. It wasn’t that long ago that Jones had the Giants in the playoffs and flying high.
“We hadn’t played well, and I hadn’t played well,” Jones said of last season, “so it was tough to have to leave it like that.”
