The 2021 NFL season is practically over for the New York Giants, who are bottom of the NFC East with a 4-10 record. And it's definitely over for quarterback Daniel Jones, who was placed on injured reserve following his neck injury.
It's the end of yet another disappointing season for the 24-year-old, whose improvement on the turnover aspect has not been enough to help the Giants get better results, and therefore, improve his personal record in the league.
With his fourth and final year of his rookie contract drawing nearer, there's growing speculation in New York regarding Jones' future. Giants head coach Joe Judge, however, suggested he'll continue counting on him.
Giants news: Joe Judge addresses the QB situation, encourages Daniel Jones
“He worked really hard in the offseason, made a lot of gains," Judge told the media, as quoted by USA Today's Giants Wire. "Saw a lot of progress throughout different parts of the season with him. You want to get Daniel on the field. It’s a quarterback-driven league and obviously Daniel’s our quarterback.
“I’ve seen enough growth from Daniel to tell us that he’s a guy we want to go ahead and play with. In terms of the business aspect of it and different things, I’ll let different departments of this organization handle that stuff.”
Daniel Jones also spoke on his future at the Giants
"I've spoken to [coach] Joe [Judge] and we've had conversations about [being the starter next year]," Jones said, as quoted by ESPN. "Like I said, there are things I need to improve on. There are things he expects me to improve on moving forward. I understand that and obviously take that very seriously. That is kind of my approach."
Jones life at the NFL hasn't been easy so far. The first two years in the league were particularly harsh for the young quarterback, who had 23 turnovers in 12 starts in his rookie season and 16 in 14 starts the following year. In 2021, Jones reduced his turnovers to 10 in 11 starts before his season-ending injury.
While that has drawn doubts on his talent, it looks like Judge is still a believer of his potential. But the coach himself has mentioned the business aspect, and considering a new GM could be in New York next year, the decision may not be entirely up to him.
