His journey back to Huddle was a long and lonely one. It took nine long, lonely months, a journey that only a man with a sense of purpose could navigate, be confident that he would overcome the bumps in the road and finish the journey before anyone else.
And when Daniel Jones returns to his dream job as quarterback of the New York Giants on Saturday in Houston, he will do so with more admiration and respect from teammates he’s probably never experienced before … from teammates who were there when his right knee collapsed to the ground in Las Vegas on Nov. 5, and from teammates who only watched him play from afar.
“It’s not easy. A lot of people don’t think about the months he’s spent here during the offseason when players are on vacation or going home,” Micah McFadden told the Post. “He’s worked hard here and gotten healthy and I’m just impressed with the way he’s worked at it. I have a lot of respect for him and I’m excited to see him back this weekend.”
No one is more excited than Jones to be back at quarterback with no knee or neck concerns and to be performing better than he did during last season’s desperate six-game run.
“I’m ready. I’m ready to play as long as the Dubs want me to,” he said of coach Brian Daboll.
Jones is moving with ease and has improved his deep-ball accuracy after breaking free of the expected rustiness that comes with early training camp.
“It’s not a surprise to us,” Andrew Thomas said. “If it’s something he can control, I had no doubt about it.”
Jones doesn’t put his Giants teammates in the same mesmerizing trance state that Aaron Rodgers puts his Jets teammates in, and tearing his ACL at 26 isn’t as big a setback as tearing his Achilles at 40. But that doesn’t mean Jones isn’t viewed as an inspiration by his teammates.
“I’m really proud that he’s my quarterback,” McFadden said.
Devin Singletary was on the Texans team that beat the Buccaneers 39-37 in Houston that day when C.J. Stroud threw five touchdown passes. Now he’s replacing Saquon Barkley behind a new quarterback.
“You have to respect everything he’s been through, the injuries and everything and just continuing to fight,” Singletary told the Post. “It’s a tough league and it’s really tough to do this in New York. You have to be mentally strong to do it.”
Jones’ leadership style is more similar to Eli Manning’s than Phil Simms’, but until he wins, he’ll never get the same level of respect outside of 1925 Giants Drive.
“He’s a general,” Singletary told the Post. “He demands attention, he demands he go all out, starts fast and finishes strong in the second half. You can feel that energy every time he comes into the huddle.”
McFadden: “When he gets up and speaks in front of the team, he has a demanding voice. He doesn’t do that all the time, but when he does, you know people have to listen and they want to hear what he has to say.”
“He’s a great leader, the type of guy that’s probably in the locker room right now watching the practice that we had,” Fieldhouse coach Eric Gray said.
McFadden remembers the day Jones’ world was turned upside down.
“I remember something weird happened on the last play and he stumbled up and just stayed there,” McFadden said. “Then he went down and came over to the sideline and started running and slicing up the sideline. We were like, ‘That doesn’t look bad,’ but it turns out he tore his ACL. It’s a weird injury, and you don’t really know if it’s fully torn until someone feels it and feels it. It’s a really weird injury and obviously these types of injuries take a while to heal.”
Thomas remembers too.
“It was a tough day,” he said. “Obviously it’s not a good feeling when you have a non-contact injury like this. It’s a tough blow for sure, but he’s worked hard to get back and I’m excited to see him play this year.”
Behind a more experienced offensive line: Malik Neighbors is the first No. 1 receiver.
“This is his third year with this offense and I think he’s done a good job controlling the huddle just with his play, especially with the young receivers. It’s helped those guys develop and I think he’s done a good job of that,” Thomas said.
One of the most pressing questions is whether he will remain Beard Daniel Jones.
“I told him to hold it,” Singletary said, “but he was like, I don’t know. Me and a couple other guys were teasing him about it, giving him a tougher look, making it look like he was coming for real and had his helmet on and saying, ‘It doesn’t matter. There are no clean cuts. I’m ready to get covered in mud.'”
Gray was a rookie last season.
“I think it’s going to be special for him to get back on the court and play some live football again,” Gray said.
That’s certainly true.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there again, going through my pre-game routine and playing in front of a crowd,” Jones said.
Welcome back, Daniel Jones.
