Monday Transcript: Quarterback Daniel Jones

Quarterback Daniel Jones

Q. I guess I kind of start with the obvious. How are you doing in rehab and where do things stand?

DANIEL JONES: Rehab is going well. Making good progress. Coming along. Spent a lot of time with the (athletic) trainers here and strength staff, so feel like things are going well. I'm coming along well.

Q. I think Joe had talked about a little bit, (he) hopes for what you'll be able to do this spring. Where do you stand on being able to throw or activities on the field?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I've been throwing for quite some time now. Was throwing stationary pretty soon in the rehab process but have progressed and I'm throwing with movement and dropping, and kind of quarterback-specific drills. So that feels good. Coming along well.

Q. So then just to build on that, have they given you a target date when you think you can be fully cleared?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, the plan is to be ready to go by training camp. That's when I'm shooting for and feel good about being ready.

Q. Any setbacks or anything? I know long, hard process. Anything like that, or all been smooth? How is it going?

DANIEL JONES: I haven't had any setbacks fortunately to this point. You know, it's a process and there are certainly better days and then days that you don't make as much progress.

Overall, it's been a good process with these guys, and lucky to have the training staff we have here with the Giants and the strength staff and feel lucky to be working with them. Been a good process. I've come along well and luckily no setbacks.

Q. I'm curious, is your rehab strictly the leg? Do you have to do anything with the neck? Is that something you still have to build up? Anything you have to worry about? When you go and train? How does that factor in, if at all?

DANIEL JONES: No, that's not a factor. My neck is 100% healthy. That was a stinger-type injury that's pretty common in football. That's calmed down and I feel good.

Q. Joe had mentioned the possibility of you getting into some stuff in the spring, some drills and stuff. Where do you stand on that?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I want to do as much as they'll let me do. That's the goal. I want to be smart and not do anything I can't do, but I'm -- that's my goal, is to be involved and participate in some of those drills here in the spring.

So obviously it'll correlate with my rehab and the progress I'm making as the trainers and the strength staff see it, so, yeah, that's the goal.

Q. Is it strange to look around, part A, and not have Saquon here? What was that like for you? If my math is correct, part B would be I think you're the longest-tenured Giant now. Can you believe that?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, me and Dex. I guess I was a few minutes before Dex. It's different for sure not having Saquon around. You know, he was a great teammate, a great friend. Happy for him to get the contract. Unfortunately, we're going to have to play him. But that's the NFL. That's the way this works. I'm excited about the guys we got on the team.

Q. And then it doesn't really feel like that long ago that we were asking Eli this question, but now we're asking you this question: How would you feel if the Giants used their first-round pick on a quarterback, and have they looped you in at all to the possibility they might do that and bring in a challenger for your job?

DANIEL JONES: My focus is what I'm doing here with my rehab. Kind of the same thing with Saquon. You know, that's the nature of our business. It's a competitive league, so the best way to handle that I think is to focus on what I'm doing, focus on myself, and making sure that I'm, one, healthy, and then ready to play good football. So that's what I can control. That's what I can do to help myself and the team.

Q. How good are you at sensing things around you? Do you have a sense -- there is so much talk about quarterbacks and what they're going to do with you and contracts. Seems like the ink is still just drying on your contract and there are already ways to get out and all these other things. Do you have a sense from Dabs, Joe Schoen, anybody that, you know what, I think they might be looking to replace me, or this is still my team and offense? You have to concentrate on your rehab, but how is your sense and your antennaabout those things?

DANIEL JONES: I think you can get into trouble when you try to think too much about some of those things and how it all works out. Yeah, like your antenna for some of those dynamics and relationships. I'm just focused on what I'm doing, and that's my rehab, getting healthy, spending time with the guys, and making sure we're getting on the same page, and having the best spring we can. Like I said, be a better question for Joe and Dabs. I'm focused on what I have to do.

Q. If you feel you're healthy in summer in training camp, and you hope to be, going on into the season, do you feel like you're the best quarterback the Giants could have to start their season with?

DANIEL JONES: I do, yes.

Q. Wondering if having Mike Kafka back is a sense of security blanket, a coach you know well, and obviously a chance at some point in the off-season he could have left?

DANIEL JONES: It's great to have Kafka back. It's a compliment to him that he was sought after in some of those head coaching jobs. He's a great coach and I've enjoyed working with him, spending time with him, and building this offense. We understand there are areas we're all looking to improve, and looking forward to working with him, taking his coaching, and taking these steps. He's a smart guy, football guy, played quarterback in the NFL. You know, has seen it from a quarterback's perspective, so I've enjoyed working with him.

Q. With the injuries, have they worn on you? Have they given you a life lesson? Have you taken a positive somehow? How have you addressed the idea in your own mind that so many of these games unfortunately you've not been out there for?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I mean, it's an unfortunate part of the game. It's a physical game. Playing quarterback you're going to take hits. A lot of the hits are in the pocket where you're not moving or protecting yourself as much as you would be when you're running. It's all part of the game, it's an unfortunate part of it, but it's time to focus on little things and try to rehab the knee, but also find other areas of your game that you can focus on and still apply yourself to improving. You're always looking for those edges or a couple of things that you can take a step with. Yeah, it's a little bit different when you're rehabbing and when you're maybe less -- at least for the first couple months less mobile than I would be in a typical off-season. I've tried to focus on a couple of things and make progress.

Q. If I could, I know this is a third, but I want to make sure I'm clear: Were you just talking about neck up? That's the part you can fine-tune as your body is healing.

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I think, yeah, film and some of that work, and then whether it's arm care or arm strengthening stuff, or you know, just different things you can focus on that don't require as much running or movement.

Q. I know you usually get together with the receivers and the backs. Is your rehab going to allow you to do that this off-season, this spring?

DANIEL JONES: I think we'll try to spend as much time as we can together throughout the spring and the summer. We're here for OTAs and there will be a section of our workouts when we're on the field, and that will progress to practice obviously. This summer we'll look to spend some time together. I think my rehab will be -- I want to get that figured out and see where that exactly is. Yeah, the goal is, the idea is definitely to find some time to work out together this summer.

Q. Do you have a support group of let's say guys who have had ACL injuries who if you need to run something by you have the possibility of doing that? Like Saquon or maybe Brady or somebody like that?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I've communicated with Saquon. Went through it recently here, so I talked to him a good bit about it. Wan'Dale had one a couple of years ago that he came back pretty quickly and very successfully from. Those are two guys I talked to a lot and have taken advice from.

Q. Is there any one single piece of advice they said, like be patient or whatever?

DANIEL JONES: Be patient is one of them. I think they've talked about how you start to feel really good and feel like you can do most things, and they said looking back on it, where they are now, they realize they were still a way from being completely 100% fully back. I think that's part of the process. You get to a certain point, and you feel like you're -- you can do more than maybe you should or what the trainers or doctors want you to do, so just stay patient with it.

Q. Kind of just to build a little bit off having some new teammates, how do you navigate new linemen, running backs, new receivers, possibly more coming in the draft, just not being able to be out with them in a full capacity this spring, how do you still build a rapport before you're 100% cleared?

DANIEL JONES: I think there is a lot of time in the meeting rooms, time in walk-throughs, time outside the building where you're grabbing dinner or hanging out and building those relationships. Time on the field is important and throwing routes on air, 7 on 7, all that stuff is important. I'll try to do as much of it as I can. But every different aspect of being here for the spring is important towards building a rapport and relationships with guys that will pay off when the season gets here. I can do the vast majority of all these things so try to do those well.