New York Giants legend Tiki Barber examined Daniel Jones' woeful performance in New York's season-opening 28-6 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday and insisted during Thursday's edition of the WFAN afternoon show that Jones is not yet a completely "broken" quarterback.
Former tight end and current analyst Kyle Rudolph played alongside Jones with the Giants during the 2021 season and seemingly disagrees with Barber's assessment.
"The Daniel Jones that I saw on Sunday in that game is not the Daniel Jones that I watched take them to the divisional round of the playoffs," Rudolph said during an appearance on the "Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams," as shared by Matt Ehalt of the New York Post. "It’s not the guy I played with when I was there for a year. His confidence looks completely destroyed. How can you blame him? Every time he goes out there, he’s fighting for his life."
Barber is among those who acknowledged this week that Jones appeared to be "lacking confidence" coming off the season-ending torn ACL he suffered on Nov. 5 of last year. Jones also missed a total of nine games from the start of the 2021 campaign through last fall due to neck injuries.
Jones completed 22-of-42 passes for 186 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a score, in the blowout defeat against Minnesota. According to ESPN stats, he enters this weekend ranked 30th in the NFL among 32 qualified players with a 21.7 adjusted QBR.
"He’s got to get his confidence back," Rudolph added about Jones. "I don’t know how they get it back, but that guy I watched on Sunday playing against [the Vikings] … that wasn’t the guy that I know and that I know he has the ability to be."
Rudolph said during the segment that he believes Jones is "super talented" and "incredibly gifted." If Jones doesn't begin proving Rudolph right beginning with this Sunday's game at the 0-1 Washington Commanders, the 27-year-old could find himself facing a benching and the inevitable end of his Giants tenure.
As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Giants as 1.5-point road underdogs against the Commanders.
