NY Giants’ Daniel Jones to start vs. Patriots, Saquon Barkley’s big step

NY Giants quarterback Daniel Jones will make his preseason debut as New York’s starters could play at least the first half against the Patriots on Sunday night

The NY Giants, as promised by head coach Joe Judge, will treat Sunday’s preseason finale against the New England Patriots as the starters’ dress rehearsal for the regular season.

That means quarterback Daniel Jones will take his first exhibition snaps of the summer and likely see extended playing time in preparation of the Giants’ Week 1 clash against the Denver Broncos next month.

Judge told reporters prior to Friday’s practice that Jones and the starters could play “at least” the first half on Sunday night at MetLIfe Stadium.

While Jones won’t have either prize free agent wide receiver Kenny Golladay or first-round rookie Kadarius Toney at his disposal against the Patriots, one of Jones’ most important weapons will also be making a major step towards returning on Sunday night.

While Judge ruled star running back Saquon Barkley out for Sunday night’s game, meaning Barkley will not have played a snap before the regular season kicks off, the plan is for Barkley to go through pre-game warmups for the first time.

Barkley is working his way back from a torn ACL suffered in Week 2 last season, and after getting back into full-team drills while wearing a non-contact jersey during a joint practice with the Patriots, is seemingly making progress towards returning Week 1.

Matt Lombardo is FanSided’s National NFL Insider and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday. Email Matt: Matt.Lombardo@FanSided.com.