New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is finally going to see some live-game action this preseason.
Head coach Joe Judge admitted that the third-year passer will make his exhibition slate debut on Sunday in the Giants’ final preseason game against the New England Patriots.
“My expectation at this point would be for Daniel to play at least the first half,” Judge said. “We’ll decide on what we’re going to do in terms of coming out of halftime later in the week.”
Veteran Mike Glennon started the Giants’ first two preseason games — most recently playing the first half on Saturday against the Cleveland Browns, as Judge opted not to play most of his perceived starters following a productive week of joint practices against the AFC North team.
“The plan all along was to make sure Mike got as much time as he could in the first game when we played against the Jets, along with a lot of other guys that were in the game,” Judge said, continuing to stress depth within the roster. “Mike meshed with some of our older offensive linemen, got out there, got some chemistry together with those guys.”
Judge has said throughout the summer that the final preseason game of the exhibition slate will be seen as a “dress rehearsal” for Week 1 against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 12; insinuating that who you’ll see in the first half is who will be on the fast track to start the regular season.
Not so fast, though, says Judge.
“I wouldn’t assume any of that,” Judge said. “Obviously, when we get out there on Sunday, it will directly reflect based on how people have performed to this point and where the depth chart has indicated. However, there’s going to be a lot of guys that we’ll be getting one final look at and we have final cuts after that game.
“We’re going to have to take a look at certain guys in certain situations, see how they mesh within certain units and the chemistry and impact they can bring. But in terms of having a set depth chart, nothing is ever concrete. The best players will always play. If somebody is outperforming somebody in practice, then they’ll play that Sunday.”
The Giants, along with every team in the NFL, will have to make its largest number of cuts following Week 3 of the preseason, trimming the roster from 85 to its usual 53.
