Giants icon, doctor discuss recovery of QB Daniel Jones

New York Giants icon and retired wide receiver Amani Toomer required ACL surgery twice during his career and, thus, knows plenty about what Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is experiencing as Jones works to recover from the torn ACL in his right knee he suffered back on Nov. 5. 

"It took me a full calendar year until I got that last bit of pop back in my knee," Toomer recently told Jordan Raanan of ESPN for a piece published Thursday. "It's not easy. It's not ideal for (Jones') situation."

Jones has a history of making plays with his legs both to avoid pass-rushers and to gain handfuls of yards at any given time. According to StatMuse, he finished the 2022 regular season ranked fifth among quarterbacks with 708 total rushing yards. Jones then recorded 206 rushing yards and one touchdown on 40 attempts over fewer than six full games this past campaign. 

"Right side is a bigger deal in strength in terms of pushing off to be accurate downfield, but less in terms of being skittish because it's the front leg that is always exposed," injury expert and former Los Angeles Chargers team doctor Dr. David Chao told Raanan about Jones' specific injury. "[Jones] does run the ball but, believe it or not, the first thing to come back is acceleration and high-end speed. Straight line. But cutting and deceleration are the last things to come back. But he's kind of a straight-line guy. He doesn't have much wiggle, right?"

Raanan mentioned that conversations with "doctors, friends who have had similar injuries and the Giants medical staff" have led Jones to believe he'll be good to go for summer training camp sessions and Week 1 of next season. Such information means little, though, as it pertains to the nine games Jones has missed since 2021 because of worrisome neck injuries.

Multiple reports have indicated individuals within the Giants such as general manager Joe Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka, team co-owner John Mara and players "believe in" Jones' ability to bounce back from a rough season and repeat performances that helped him guide the team to a road playoff win in January 2023. 

The Giants can, however, escape Jones' contract early next year, so he'll have plenty to prove even if the club doesn't acquire a signal-caller with a high first-round draft pick this spring.