INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Daniel Jones flew home Sunday night ahead of his Giants teammates hoping for good news at the next medical evaluation of his neck strain on Monday.
“He’s getting an image in the next day,” head coach Joe Judge said.
The team stayed overnight in Los Angeles after its 37-21 loss to the Chargers and planned to fly back to New Jersey on Monday morning.
But Jones and head athletic trainer Ronnie Barnes were set to board a plane late Sunday night for a Monday visit at the Hospital of Special Surgery in Manhattan.
Jones will have his neck evaluated by Dr. Frank Cammisa, a spine surgeon, at HSS.
Jones’ most-recent checkup was last Monday in Marina del Rey, Calif., with spine surgeon Dr. Robert Watkins III. He then joined his teammates in Tucson, Ariz., and looked good in his individual workouts during practices this week.
Jones went through an extensive, hour-long throwing workout on the SoFi Stadium field Sunday pregame, despite sitting out a second straight game.
He got hurt three games ago on a run against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Judge and the Giants have been optimistic he can return this season, which is why he hasn’t been placed on injured reserve.
The coach won’t divulge the exact nature of the injury. He said Jones is not limited physically at all; the team is simply being cautious that they don’t create a long-term problem by exposing him to contact.
He has not been cleared for contact despite several exams and opinions solicited from specialists. If Cammisa clears him for contact on Monday, he could play as soon as next Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Judge reacted angrily last Thursday in Tucson, Ariz., in response to a “completely inaccurate” report that suggested Jones had “structural damage” in his neck and had originally injured himself in Tampa a week before the Eagles game.
The report since has been corrected to say Jones got hurt against Philly, but it continues to say Jones has “structural damage,” which implied a career-threatening injury and sent fans over the edge.
“At this moment there is no information that would lead us in any way, shape or form to think there is a threat long-term,” a perturbed Judge said before Thursday’s practice. “We’re still optimistic in pushing forward to prepare him to be back on the field this year. When the doctors clear him for contact, and they say he’s good to go, we’ll have him ready to go. And we’ve prepared him throughout this week that if he got cleared for contact he’d be ready to go then.”
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Quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski and offensive lineman Wes Martin stayed back in Tucson, Ariz., and missed the game due to their positive COVID-19 tests.
They will fly back to New Jersey at some point this week when they are finished with their isolation period, unless they test negative sooner.
In Schuplinski’s absence, Jones and backup Jake Fromm filled in for the QB coach as Glennon’s eyes and ears in between drives. They sat with him on the bench and reviewed plays on Microsoft Surface tablets and discussed the offense and decisions with Glennon and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens.
“I think Daniel and Jake really did a good job today taking on that role that Jerry normal does,” Glennon said. “Do we miss him? Of course. He provides great insight. We’d love to have him. I know he’s as sick feeling about it as anyone. I’m sure it’s absolutely killing him not to be there. But I thought Daniel and Jake did a good job filling in that role.”
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Glennon completed 17 of 36 passes for 191 yards, two TDs and an interception. He also scored a 7-yard rushing TD and lost a fumble. He threw multiple passes behind receivers or into traffic when he had other guys open.
“Not my best,” said Glennon, who fell to 6-23 as a starter in the pros. “Didn’t feel we were as effective as a pass offense as we needed to be, starting with me.”
His .206 career winning percentage is the lowest among all active quarterbacks with at least 25 starts.
Glennon practiced in full on Friday in Arizona and cleared the concussion protocol to make his second straight start. He revealed he was dinged up in the third quarter of last week’s loss in Miami.
“The hit that happened toward the end of the third quarter, my head kind of whip-lashed back,” he said. “So from that point forward things were a little fuzzy, but I was still with it.”
Glennon, asked if he regretted staying in that fake, said: “No, I was with it and aware of what was going on, and I felt that I could play well enough to help the team win.”
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Fans have been clamoring to see the recently-signed Fromm get in a game, given how bad the offense has looked with Glennon. But Judge didn’t even give Fromm snaps in Sunday’s blowout, which is a clear indictment of either Fromm’s progress or ability.
“We consider everything throughout the game, but look, we’re gonna play our players in the game based on how they practice, prepare and who gives us the best chance for success,” the coach said.
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Running back Eli Penny caught a 3-yard TD pass from Glennon on the same day that his younger brother, Rashaad, had a career high 137 rushing yards and 2 TDs for the Seattle Seahawks against the Houston Texans.
Penny is from Los Angeles, so he had family at SoFi Stadium and admitted it was a “special day.” His brother Rashaad, a former first round pick, has struggled to stay healthy.
“They watched the Seahawks game and then they pulled up right over here,” Penny said of his family. “Special day. A couple touchdowns for us brothers, and you just kind of enjoy seeing Rashaad back on the field again doing his thing.”
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Jones (neck strain), WR Kadarius Toney (oblique), CB Adoree’ Jackson (quad), WR Collin Johnson (healthy) and OLB Oshane Ximines (healthy) were inactive. Toney caught some passes from Jones pregame but still wasn’t close to 100%. He has missed three straight games.