Giants' Brian Daboll noncommittal on starters playing vs. Jets

The New York Giants will face off against their MetLife Stadium co-tenants, the New York Jets, this Saturday to close out the 2024 preseason schedule.

On Thursday before practice, head coach Brian Daboll was not sure who would play in the game and who wouldn’t.

“No,” Daboll said when pressed on whether he has made any decisions about playing time. “We’ll talk about it like we normally do after practice.”

Jets head coach Robert Saleh has said he will be resting many of his key players which will not have much bearing on Daboll’s decision.

“We’ll go through practice today and do our normal procedure. Do what we think is best for the team,” Daboll said. “Every year is different, so we’ll go out there, we’ll practice today, and make our decision in a couple days.”

The two teams held a joint practice where each team balled out with their best players. That might end up being the height of competition between them this week.

The Jets got the better of the Giants at Wednesday’s joint practice with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Garett Wilson putting on a clinic against the Giants’ young secondary. Neither will see the field on Saturday night, but the Giants’ secondary needs all the reps they can get.

“Look, it was a productive practice all the way around,” said Daboll when probed about his take on the play of his defensive backs. “That’s how you want to practice against another team. No fights. It was good, a good productive practice. There was some stuff to learn from just like every practice. There were some good plays, some plays you learn from. But definitely enjoyed practicing with that team, how we did it. Got a lot out of it.”

So did the Jets. The Giants are likely to hold back starting quarterback Daniel Jones and other key starters. This game is shaping up to be a showcase for players who need to acclimate to the team’s way of doing things as well as players fighting for roster spots.