EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was cleared for contact and is expected to play Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, coach Brian Daboll announced Monday.
Jones was dealing with a neck injury and was a limited participant in practice the past two weeks. But the final step was passing tests from doctors and being cleared for contact. The positive news came on Sunday morning in the training room at MetLife Stadium, before the Giants finished with a franchise-worst minus-9 passing yards in a 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets.
"Met with the spine surgeon, the doctor. And the doctor cleared him," Daboll said. "I've sat down with them. That is what they told me. He's cleared from that doctor."
Jones was already ruled out for the contest on Friday. So he was unavailable to play.
Daboll was told about the news after the contest.
"[Medical staff] told me he was out [on Friday]. So he was out," Daboll said. "They told me after the game that they looked at him and he'd be ready to go."
Jones' return comes just in time. Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor left the game with a rib cage injury. He spent the night at Hackensack Medical Center, where he was undergoing further evaluation. Taylor was released from the hospital on Monday. He is considered week-to-week, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Taylor remained hospitalized as of Monday early afternoon and was "pretty sore," according to Daboll. The Giants were hopefully he could be released from the hospital relatively soon.
Undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito finished the game on Sunday and went 2-of-7 for minus-1 yards in his NFL debut.
The Giants are likely to add a quarterback with Taylor's availability now in serious doubt.
"Definitely a possibility," Daboll said.
Jones injured his neck when he was sacked by Dolphins linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel on Oct. 8. He missed three games.
The Giants were cautious with Jones, especially considering he now has a history of neck injuries. The 26-year-old missed the final six games of the 2021 season with a disk problem.
Jones insisted this was not the same injury and was confident he would return this season despite some pain and weakness that also affected his left (non-throwing) shoulder.
"It's a different injury," Jones said recently. "I think when you see other guys who have similar situations as mine and they are able to progress and come back, I'm following a similar timeline to that. That is kind of the optimism, and yeah, it's a different injury than last time."
But the uncertainty of the situation did leave reasons for concern. Daboll was hesitant last week to say that Jones would definitely return this season, even though he had publicly expressed confidence previously.
It has been a rough start to the season for Jones and the Giants (2-6). They are averaging 11.9 points per game, ranking last in the NFL. Jones has thrown two touchdown passes and five interceptions while taking 28 sacks in five starts.
This comes after an offseason in which the Giants signed Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal, including $84 million guaranteed over the first two years.