New York Giants’ Daniel Jones ‘ready to go’ as crucial season looms

The New York Giants must decide whether to pick up Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option next month, and the former first-round pick says he’s fully healthy

This upcoming season will be critical to Daniel Jones’ career trajectory, and his future with the New York Giants.

After his 2021 season came to a premature end due to a neck injury last December, Jones said Monday as the Giants‘ offseason program begins that he’ll have no lingering effects when the team takes the field this summer.

“Yeah, I’ll be cleared and ready to go,” Jones said during a Zoom call with reporters Monday.

Not only will the 2022 campaign be Jones’ fourth in a New York Giants uniform and first in new head coach Brian Daboll’s scheme, but the organization must decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option by May 2.

However, as Jones picks up his iPad with a new playbook on it and gets back around his teammates, he says his future isn’t front of mind, at least at the moment.

“There’ll be a time and a place for those conversations,” Jones said. “We’ll see. We’ll take care of that when it comes up. I’m focused on what we’re doing here, preparing and taking advantage of every day we have together.”

Why New York Giants’ Daniel Jones dilemma is a difficult one

For the cap-strapped Giants, the decision is far from a slam dunk.

Jones’ fifth-year option would cost $22.384 million against the cap next season, a year in which the New York Giants are slated to have approximately $55.5 million in cap space, the 10th most in the league.

The former first-round pick out of Duke, Jones has been the definition of inconsistent since being chosen by the New York Giants No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Through his first three seasons, Jones has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 8,398 yards with 45 touchdowns to 29 interceptions through his first 38 career games, and the Giants are a meager 12-25 in games that he’s started.

The New York Giants are hoping that Jones can make the kind of strides in his fourth season that the Buffalo Bills saw from Josh Allen, under Daboll, but must decide just how committed they are to their franchise quarterback before he even takes the field.