Daniel Jones, the quarterback for the New York Giants, left the game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday in the first half due to a noncontact knee injury that might end his season.
First concern is that Jones may have a torn ACL in his right knee, sources told ESPN. To fully assess the extent of the injury, an MRI has been scheduled for Monday; however, there is concern that this seems to be a long-term problem. Due to a neck injury, Jones missed the previous three games and was making his comeback on Sunday.
“Tough. You never want your guys to go down,” coach Brian Daboll said. “He’s worked really hard to get back. It’s unfortunate.”
At Allegiant Stadium, Jones had an X-ray taken, and the results were negative. But after more examinations and the MRI in New York, his fate will finally be known.
After the game, the starting quarterback for the Giants strolled through the locker room with a noticeable limp but without crutches. His expressions gave the impression that something was wrong.
“I’m not going to jump the gun or anything,” running back Saquon Barkley said in the somber locker room moments later. “I’m not going to sit here and speak for [Jones]. You don’t know until you get an MRI. Pray for him. He knows I got his back no matter what. We got his back no matter what. … You never know until you have to get an MRI.”
What is alarming is that Jones did not take a hit for the injury to occur. When he was sacked on the last play of the first quarter, his knee gave way.
“That’s not a good sign,” said Giants offensive lineman Justin Pugh, who just recently returned from a torn ACL. “You never want to put the cart before the horse. Let’s get an MRI. Let’s get pictures of it. I was in his shoes a year ago but let’s just hope everything is all right.”
Jones tried it out and continued playing in between quarters. He went down unharmed in the middle of his dropback on the opening play of the second quarter and grabbed at his knee. Jones strolled over to the sidelines and entered the blue medical tent for additional assessment.
A few minutes later, Jones moved off the field and into the Allegiant Stadium tunnel closest to the X-ray room on his own.
Jones was replaced in the game by Tommy DeVito. The week before, against the New York Jets, the undrafted rookie replaced Tyrod Taylor with a pass for minus-1 yard. Against the Raiders, DeVito completed 15 of 20 passes for 175 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Jones and the Giants have had an awful season, considering that he signed a four-year, $160 million contract just months ago. When Jones, 26, left the game on Sunday due to this most recent injury, he was 4-of-9 passing for 25 yards. In six games this season, he has thrown six interceptions and two touchdown passes.
It appeared that the locker room knew where this was going. It might be a long road back to the field for Jones.
With a rib cage injury on Saturday, backup quarterback Taylor was placed on injured reserve, meaning the Giants (2-7) are already without him. He has at least four games off. The only two healthy quarterbacks on the team are DeVito and seasoned player Matt Barkley. This past week, Barkley was added to the Giants practice squad. Given that Jones looks to be headed for a lengthy absence, the team will probably add another quarterback.
It was the most recent gut-punch of a season that had seemed to have an infinite supply of them.