Daniel Jones is officially No. 2.
After dazzling in the preseason, the Giants’ No. 6-overall pick will take a backseat to Eli Manning when the regular season opens Sunday against the Cowboys.
But he will at least be active and in uniform, something the Giants’ rookie quarterbacks the past two years could not say until the final month of the season. It was also not a given, after the Giants kept veteran Alex Tanney as a third quarterback on the 53-man roster, but the veteran backup will be the inactive one on Sunday.
“[Jones is] ready to go,” coach Pat Shurmur said Friday. “If he has to go in and play, he’s ready to go.”
Shurmur seemed surprised by the questions of who the Giants’ No. 2 quarterback would be and whether Jones would dress Sunday — “Excuse my weird face,” he said later, thinking the answer was obvious — but it wasn’t as straightforward the past two seasons.
Last year, the Giants went with Tanney as their No. 2 quarterback out of camp and did not make Kyle Lauletta active until Week 13. The year before that — albeit under a different coaching staff — Davis Webb was not active until the season finale in Week 17.
Jones went 29-for-34 for 416 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in four preseason games, impressing with every opportunity he got. When his next one comes is to be determined, but he is now officially one injury — or, perhaps, one blowout — away from getting his shot.
The Giants cut linebacker Nate Stupar, who contributed mostly on special teams. They did not immediately fill his roster spot and Shurmur said there were no plans to sign anyone from their practice squad.
“I think we’re going to try to find the best player available,” Shurmur said. “There’s some certain issues we feel like we might be able to add some depth. But we’ll see. Possibly by the weekend, but there’s potential that we don’t. It’ll just act as a deactivated spot.”
Shurmur said he wasn’t concerned about a lack of defensive linemen — the Giants have five on their roster — noting that outside linebackers can double as defensive ends.
TE Garrett Dickerson (quad) and WR Darius Slayton (hamstring) have been declared out for Sunday after not practicing for a third straight day.