Daniel Jones finally might play his first NFL game with all of the Giants’ top offensive skill players at his disposal.
Wide receiver Golden Tate (hamstring, questionable) looked good running routes in Friday’s practice and appears on track to make his season debut Sunday at Chicago after missing the opening loss to the Steelers.
“It’s definitely really good to get Golden back in there,” tight end Evan Engram said after Friday’s practice. “Veteran player [who] makes big plays for us. It’ll be good to have the full force on offense to go compete.”
“He’s been working hard with the trainers and has progressed nicely,” coach Joe Judge said before practice.
So for the first time in Jones’ NFL career, he is likely to play with Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, Darius Slayton and Tate all healthy and in the lineup.
In 11 of Jones’ 12 rookie starts, at least one of those players was injured. And Tate was suspended (PEDs) for Jones’ first NFL start in Week 3.
Tate had 33 yards receiving and a late touchdown and had his bell rung a couple of times in last year’s 19-14 loss at Soldier Field, and missed the following game with a concussion.
Safety Adrian Colbert (quad) is the only Giants player injured and out for Sunday’s game. He was added to the injury report after Thursday’s practice. He and Brandon Williams were the Giants’ gunners on punt coverage in Week 1, so it’s possible wideout Johnny Holton will get called up from the practice squad.
Tate and outside linebacker Carter Coughlin (hamstring) are questionable. If Coughlin doesn’t play, fellow rookie Cam Brown could make his season debut in his place after being a healthy scratch in Week 1.
Bears edge rushers Khalil Mack (knee) and Robert Quinn (ankle) are both listed as questionable. Judge said he expects both to play. Quinn would be making his Bears debut after sitting out Chicago’s Week 1 win in Detroit.
In preparation for the Giants’ first road trip during the COVID-19 pandemic, Judge said he didn’t hear many complaints or concerns when consulting other coaches about their Week 1 travel experiences.
But Judge did point out a fascinating side effect of wearing masks that he wants his team to be aware of while flying to the Windy City.
“One of the factors that I’m going to have to talk to the team about is, hey listen, we’re obviously wearing masks on the plane,” Judge said. “Anytime you have a mask on, it slows down your hydration. Also when you’re on the plane, you naturally dehydrate from the air pressure, and the way it affects the cells and the moisture in your cells. We need to make sure we do a really good job traveling with hydrating on the plane, even though we have masks on. We have to be conscious of that.”
How well teams hydrate can show up on game day with cramps or soft tissue injuries, which are already rampant in the NFL this season due to the lack of organized football activities this offseason. Judge and other NFL coaches constantly point out that players aren’t in the same physical shape. So they’re even more conscious of taking every precaution to care for their players’ bodies.
