After missing last week, the status of Daniel Jones for Week 7 has very much been in question throughout the week. Neck injuries are tricky, and fantasy football managers have seen confusing messages from New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll about the status of his starting quarterback. Let’s take a look at what we know and whether Jones will be playing this week.
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Editors Note (Oct 22 at 11:30 a.m. ET): Jones is officially inactive for Week 7.
Is Daniel Jones Going To Play in Week 7?
There are many questions surrounding Jones’ status this week, but the prevailing thought on Sunday morning is that Jones will not be playing in Week 7. Ian Rapoport reported early on Sunday that, as of Saturday, Jones had not been cleared for contact.
The Giants appeared to be holding out hope all week that Jones would suit up. The QB was limited all week in practice before being tagged as questionable on the Giants’ final injury report for Week 7. However, there was always skepticism among the beat reporters that this wasn’t just an attempt by Daboll to add some extra confusion to the situation.
Here is the exchange between Daboll and the beat reporters on Friday:
Reporter: “Daniel Jones for Sunday?”
Daboll: “He’ll be out here today doing some stuff. Don’t have a designation on him as of yet.”
Reporter: “Is he cleared for contact?”
Daboll: “Not yet.”
Reporter: “You say that like you think that could happen in the next couple of days maybe?”
Daboll: “We’ll see. We’re talking to medical people and just take it day by day here.”
Reporter: “So there’s a chance?”
Daboll: “A chance, yep.”
Daboll said all the right things without ever actually making it sound like Jones had a better than 50-50 chance of suiting up this week.
What Is the Impact of Jones’ Potential Absence in Week 7?
First and foremost, if Jones doesn’t play, we will likely see Tyrod Taylor make his second start of the season. Last week against the Bills, Taylor threw for 200 yards while completing 24 of his 36 attempts and getting sacked three times. Overall in the last two games, Taylor is 33-of-48 for 286 yards without a touchdown or interception.
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Nothing in Taylor’s performance from last week is overly exciting for Giants fans or fantasy managers. He is unlikely to start throwing it to all parts of the field, but he should provide a solid game-manager-type stat line. Last week, the Giants managed just nine points, but also saw the time run out on two drives that reached the goal line.
If you are relying on Taylor to revive the fantasy fortunes of the Giants’ WRs, you may be clutching at straws. The positive is that Washington’s defense has allowed 12 passing touchdowns and over 245 passing yards per game this season. Taylor couldn’t certainly improve on his stat line from last week, but it would be a surprise if he goes for 350+ yards and multiple passing touchdowns.