Former teammate backs Giants' Daniel Jones to silence doubters

A plethora of NFL fans and analysts believe quarterback Daniel Jones is about to enter his final season as a member of the New York Giants.

Former Giants tight end Darren Waller, who retired earlier this offseason, thinks Jones could prove such doubters wrong by January.

"I'm just excited for him to get another opportunity," Waller said of Jones during a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, per Bobby Kownack of the league's website. "I feel like he gets a bad rep. 2022, man, (he) played such good football. Last year was his first opportunity to get out there and play on the new bag that he got. It was tough for us as an offense to protect him, and you can't put any quarterback back there and not have any protection and expect them to really, truly thrive in the pocket."

Waller was with the Las Vegas Raiders when Jones guided the 2022 Giants to a playoff berth and a road postseason victory that helped him receive a four-year contract that essentially only guarantees him a roster spot with Big Blue through the upcoming campaign. Last season, Jones suffered a second worrisome neck injury since 2021 and failed to finish six full starts before he went down with a torn ACL in his right knee on Nov. 5.

According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN, Jones declared on Sunday he "should be ready to go" for New York's regular-season opener versus the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 8.

"(I'm) hoping that they can get those things shored up and allow him to have an opportunity to show that he is a talented dude," Waller added about the Giants' attempts to get the most out of Jones. "He's very athletic, like get his opportunity to play the football that he was playing in 2022. I feel like that's definitely still in him."

Giants general manager Joe Schoen made multiple offseason moves to bolster the club's lackluster offensive line before Schoen landed dynamic wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick of this year's draft. Waller sounds optimistic Jones can match the expectations Schoen seemingly had for the 27-year-old back in March 2023.

"I know him for a fact, he's motivated and excited to get back out there, excited to lead," Waller added about Jones. "That's when you learn the most about dudes is responding to opportunities like this."