Daniel Jones achieves 'impressive return timeline' to be ready to play for the Giants in week 1

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is just eight months removed from his ACL injury, suffered last November. However, he seems to be on track to be available for week 1. Jones started training camp without any injury designation, and his ability to move looks to be where he wants it to be.

Injury analyst Deepak Chona mentioned, for instance, how impressive the recovery timeline is.

Daniel Jones himself, though, is not surprised. He put in the work to make sure he would be ready as soon as possible.

"I expected to be here," Jones said after practice. "I expected the process to go smoothly and well because we have good doctors, (athletic) trainers, and strength coaches, and a clear plan from the get go. It is definitely good to be here. I'm grateful to be out there and grateful to all the people who have helped me get to this point. Still, a lot of work to do across the board."

Some bad plays from practice went viral on social media, but Daniel Jones is satisfied by the work the offense executed.

"It felt good to be back out there, playing 11-on-11," Jones mentioned. "I thought for the most part it went well. A couple of plays here and there, but for the most part, we kept the ball moving forward and stayed out of negative plays. The first day, we are all getting our feet underneath us, so build on it and go from there."

The Giants have three preseason games, the first one on August 8 against the Detroit Lions. It's unclear at this point if the quarterback will see any exhibition action. Obviously, the main goal is to be ready on September 8, when the Giants open their regular season schedule against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium.

"I will continue to rehab and focus on my knee, but also, from a football standpoint, getting back into 11-on-11 and playing football," Jones said. "I'm grateful to be here, but it was kind of the plan all along, and I certainly expected to be here."

After having a career year in 2022, Daniel Jones now comes off the worst NFL season of his life. Last year, he played only six games, with two touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 70.5 passer rating.

The Giants even tried to trade up to draft Drake Maye. Unable to do so, though, the team is entering the season with Jones, Tommy DeVito, and free agent additions Drew Lock and Nathan Rourke.

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