The New York Giants opened their training camp on Tuesday, which means everyone is in the building and ready to work — if healthy, that is.
On Wednesday morning, general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll held their first media session of the 2024 NFL season.
One topic, of course, was the status of quarterback Daniel Jones. He is receiving from an ACL tear he suffered midway through last season that put his Giants’ future in doubt.
Schoen said that Jones will be taking first-team snaps under center as long he’s feeling up to it.
“We need better in 2024”
Joe Schoen is asked about his expectations for Daniel Jones heading into this season: pic.twitter.com/Ew8qQQJy8U
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) July 24, 2024
Jones showed fairly fluid mobility during the team’s offseason program and worked in 7-on-7 drills and will now participate in 11-on-11s and in practice.
Schoen also said that he kept Jones “in the loop” of any and all moves the team was preparing to make at quarterback. As we know from watching HBO’s Hard Knocks these past few weeks, Schoen and his team were exploring deals to trade up in the draft to select one of the top quarterbacks.
As it turned out, they couldn’t swing a deal with New England for the third overall pick and selected wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick.
Jones has had to endure a ton of criticism from all sides this offseason and has handled it well according to Schoen.
“Of all the guys on the team, he does the best job tuning out the noise,” Schoen said. “He’s wired for the position. He’s a great teammate, he’s a leader, and I’m excited about how things can go this year if he can stay healthy.”
That is a critical point. Since becoming the team’s full-time starting quarterback in 2020, Jones only avoided injury in 2022 — the year he took the Giants to the postseason.
Schoen is also under no illusions. He told reporters that Jones has to improve this year.
“We need better in 2024,” he said.