Daniel Jones is nearing the goal of restarting his career.
Speaking on the Brive Podcast Network’s The Sims Complete, Jones said his return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament had been “a pretty smooth process, no particular issues.”
The Washington Post previewed the episode, which will be released Tuesday morning, eight days before the first practice of training camp.
“At this point, I’m running, I’m cutting, I’m doing everything I need to do,” Jones told father-and-son co-hosts Phil and Matt Sims.
Jones’ 2024 salary cap hit of $47.8 million is the fifth-largest in the NFL this season, according to spotrac.com.
Once Jones is medically cleared for contact and able to participate in 11-on-11 drills again, he will be playing with two years remaining on his four-year, $160 million contract to assert his positional rights beyond 2024 and avoid becoming a cap casualty.
“I expect a lot from myself and I expect a lot from my team,” Jones said, “and it’s not necessarily what’s going on outside that drives me.”
The conversation between the three quarterbacks took an amusing turn when Phil Simms suggested the mild-mannered Jones yell back at coach Brian Daboll, who turned red the next time he was reprimanded on the sideline.
There were notorious and frequent clashes between Sims and Giants head coach Bill Parcells.
“Is that something you’ve done before?” Jones asked. “Maybe I’ll give it a try, and if it doesn’t work I’ll tell Daves it was your idea…. I’ve been coached hard my whole career, so of course I don’t mind.”
The playmaking of first-round draft pick rookie receiver Malik Neighbors should ease some of Jones’ anger.
“He’s been fun to watch,” Jones said. “He’s had a good spring. You can see how athletic he is — not just his explosiveness, but his strength and how well he can catch the ball.”
Believe it or not, Jones received a standing ovation at a home game just three games before the Giants clinched a spot in the 2022 playoffs.
There were a lot of issues with him last season even before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament on Nov. 5.
“We didn’t play well and I didn’t play well,” Jones said, “so it was tough to end the game the way that we did.”
