Ex-Giants TE Darren Waller believes Daniel Jones can return to 2022 form: ‘That’s definitely still in him’
Even though Darren Waller announced his retirement this summer, he remains a devoted supporter of one of his former New York teammates. Despite only playing five games with the much-maligned quarterback in 2023, the former tight end for the Giants has complete faith in Daniel Jones to recover from a ruptured ACL sustained in the previous season. Waller recently stated on SiriusXM NFL Radio, “I’m just excited for him to get another opportunity.” “I think he has a horrible reputation. 2022, dude, he was such a talented football player. It wasn’t until last year that he had the chance to play with his new bag outside. We had a difficult time protecting him as an offence, and you can’t start a quarterback again without having
I’m] hoping that they can get those things shored up and allow him to have an opportunity to show that he is a talented dude, he’s very athletic, like get his opportunity to play the football that he was playing in 2022. I feel like that’s definitely still in him.”
Jones was at the height of his Big Blue experience going into the previous season. Fresh off an unexpected playoff run to the NFC Divisional Round, he had signed a four-year, $160 million extension after a season in which he gained 3,913 yards (3,205 passing, 708 rushing), 15 touchdowns from the air, seven more from running, and the league’s best interception percentage of 1.1. However, there were concerns, particularly in light of the fact that Jones’ extension appeared to necessitate franchise-tagging Saquon Barkley, who is currently a player with the opposing Eagles after a year.
Jones did little to alleviate them due to circumstances both of his own making and outside of his control.
In six starts during the 2023 season, the QB went 1-5 and threw for just 909 yards with two touchdowns. He tossed six interceptions, which eclipsed his five in 16 contests the year prior thanks to his career-worst 3.8 INT percentage.
He and Waller connected for 23 receptions and 239 yards without a score.
As Jones’ ex-tight end alluded to, though, New York’s offensive line made it anything but easy to perform. He was sacked 30 times, an average of five per game that put him on pace to take 85 by season’s end, and that’s including when he departed one play into the second quarter during his final appearance.
Jones missed Weeks 6-8 with a neck injury before returning in Week 9, only to suffer the ACL tear that ended any chance for him to turn his season around.
