NEW JONES INJURY
Ankle sprain & right hamstring strain puts QB’s status in jeopardy vs. Browns
Giants QB, already dealing with a hamstring strain, also has another lower leg issue, according to Judge
Daniel Jones sprained his left ankle while playing on a bad right hamstring against the Cardinals Sunday. Jones labored at Wednesday’s practice, often had a hitch in his step when he threw, and was limited in his work.
And Jones’ status for Sunday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns, as expected, is very much in doubt.
“I haven’t decided either way with Daniel,” head coach Joe Judge said before practice. “I’ll go ahead and answer that right now.”
Jones said he was injured during Sunday’s 26-7 loss on a “hit in the pocket.” The film shows it could have happened on a Haason Reddick sack that forced a Jones fumble with 7:28 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Reddick and Markus Golden piled on Jones after beating Kevin Zeitler and Andrew Thomas on the rush, respectively. Jones’ left leg bent inwards awkwardly under Reddick’s weight, and Jones had trouble getting up and was limping noticeably afterward.
Jones insisted he does not believe that his hamstring and immobility were the reason he sprained his ankle on that play. That may be true based on how quickly the rush got to him.
But it’s also possible a healthy Jones could have scampered outside to the right, given how often he has used his legs to escape when healthy this season.
Regardless, the fact is that Judge, Jones and the Giants took a calculated risk by playing him with a bad hamstring against the Cardinals, and it backfired.
Judge said there’s “really nothing worse for the wear” with Jones’ hamstring, but he announced Wednesday morning that “there’s another lower leg issue we’re dealing with right now.”
The Daily News later confirmed that Jones had sprained his left ankle.
“I’m going to give him an opportunity this week to work through practice and see how he moves and how he reacts to things,” Judge said. “Again, if he can defend himself properly in the pocket as I’ve said before on how I’ll handle it, if he’s not at risk beyond any normal game, then we’ll go ahead and give him the opportunity to play. If we think that’s an issue, that he can’t go out there and defend himself, then we’ll make the best decision for him long-term and the team as well.”
Jones couldn’t even put his full weight on his left foot while throwing early on Wednesday, however, and wasn’t even able to backpedal normally during the stretch period.
Last week, in his return from a one-game absence, Jones was limited on Wednesday and Thursday before being a full practice participant on Friday and playing.
But starting him against Cleveland and the pass rushing duo of Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon, in this physical condition, seems beyond ill-advised.
Jones certainly has no chance of getting close to healthy the rest of this season unless he sits out again. And frankly, even resting Sunday might not be enough to get him right.
As quarterback coach Jerry Schuplinski said Tuesday: “We’ll re-evaluate it again this week and see where it is in practice, and I’m assuming this process is gonna be pretty constant now moving forward.”
When Jones was asked Wednesday if he thinks he might be hurting the team by playing injured, he said: “That’s not a decision that’s up to me. I don’t make those decisions. My job is to prepare to play and do everything I can to be prepared. So I’m working as hard as I can to get healthy.”’
And sure, Jones is correct that the decision ultimately is Judge’s, not the quarterback’s.
Still, anyone watching or participating in Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals could see how impaired Jones was by his hamstring, and that was before he sprained his ankle.
So it’s also on the quarterback to take a hard look at just how much he can help his team in this condition — and to reflect on what negative impact he already may have had on their postseason chances by rushing back onto the field last week.
Jones missed two games last season with a high right ankle sprain. Eli Manning replaced him, lost in Philadelphia and then, even though Jones seemed capable of playing the following week, he remained on the bench while Manning won his final start at home over the Miami Dolphins.
On Wednesday, Jones would not answer directly whether he has a low or high ankle sprain, though if he got hurt on that Reddick sack, it looks as it impacted Jones’ high ankle.
The second-year QB would only say that it’s “sore,” but in the same breath he said he feels “good” and that “I certainly feel I can” play against Cleveland.
Still, while free safety Logan Ryan said Wednesday that “our quarterback is tough as nails,” where does toughness get Jones in the Giants if it results in further injury and a near-shutout defeat?
That’s what happened last Sunday against Arizona, and that’s what could happen again this Sunday night against the Browns.
“We’re evaluating both (injuries),” Judge said. “I want to make sure that the hamstring from last week, see how that came out. We haven’t really moved him around
yet since that, want to see if there’s a wear or tear or any kind of fatigue that’s going to set him back. As well as the other one, like anybody else dealing with some things right now, we have to evaluate where he is with that, as well. We’re evaluating both equally, I wouldn’t say one is more of a concern than the other right now, but we’ve got to look and see how he moves throughout the week.”
NOTES
Both Jones (hamstring/ ankle) and right guard Kevin Zeitler (shoulder) were limited in Wednesday’s practice. Rookie slot corner Darnay Holmes (knee), who sat out Sunday’s game, did not practice and worked with trainers on the side.
Running back Devonta Freeman (injured reserve/COVID reserve list) did some running and work on the side in his first on-field practice appearance in front of the media in months. This was the conclusion of his conditioning ramp-up period to be taken off the COVID list on Wednesday. And he could be designated for return from IR soon, as well.
Freeman hasn’t played since Week 7. He missed two games with an ankle injury, tried to work his way back in practice, but went on injured reserve in Week 10 with ankle and hamstring injuries. Freeman was eligible to come off IR last week against Arizona, but he went on the COVID-19 reserve list Dec. 5 while still on IR due to the ankle.
The Giants also designated free safety Adrian Colbert for return from injured reserve. Colbert hasn’t played since Week 5 due to a shoulder injury. He went on IR in Week 9.
This comes one day after the Giants cut corner Brandon Williams, a special teamer who had a tough game at gunner against the Cardinals, with Arizona’s Christian Kirk taking two punts back for 24 and 17 yards up Williams’ side.
The Giants’ special teams have slumped in the three games since their bye week, and Judge is not sitting on his hands in trying to get the unit back to its early-season efficiency.