Daily Times (Primos, PA)

Giants’ quarterbac­k Jones a full participan­t in practice

- By Greg Johnson gjohnson@21st-centurymed­ia. com @gregp_j

EAST RUTHERFORD » Barring a setback, Daniel Jones is on track to return to the Giants’ starting lineup at Washington Sunday.

The rookie quarterbac­k was back to taking most of the first-team snaps during

Wednesday’s practice. The team listed him as a full participan­t.

Jones, who suffered a highankle sprain in a loss to the Packers Dec. 1, has progressed in his rehab since being limited in practice last week.

“It feels good, it feels like I can do everything I need to do,” Jones said. “Keep working through and hopefully I can continue to improve throughout the week.”

Head coach Pat Shurmur remains cautious.

“We don’t know yet,” Shurmur said when asked if he’s operating with the belief Jones will start on Sunday. “We just need to see how his ankle responds to the added work he did today, and then we’ll just take it from there.”

This is an ideal scenario for the Giants, who should now get to develop Jones for two more games after Eli Manning had an emotional MetLife Stadium sendoff in the 36-20 win against the Dolphins last Sunday. The Giants finish at home with the Eagles in town in Week 17.

Shurmur said his decision on who will play quarterbac­k in the final two games is based strictly on health.

“That’s been the case all along,” Shurmur said. “When we committed to Daniel to be our starter, he was our starter. The last couple of weeks, he couldn’t start, so Eli went back in there. I’ll double down on that. Let’s not overthink it.”

In 11 games (10 starts), Jones has thrown for 2,374 yards (61.6 percent completion rate) with 18 touchdowns and 11 intercepti­ons. He ranks 19th in ESPN’s Adjusted Quarterbac­k Rating at 51.6.

The knock against Jones has been his penchant for fumbling, as he leads the league with 10 lost fumbles. But if he can improve his pocket awareness, Jones he has a chance to be the future of the franchise because of his downfield vision, accuracy and ability to extend plays with his feet.

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