The Giants hoped to get a good look at him on the field on Thursday so they’d know whether he or backup quarterback Colt McCoy could take most of the first-team reps in practice on Friday – the most critical day of preparation for their game against the Cleveland Browns. Instead, the Giants will still be in evaluation mode with Jones on Friday, and might even have to continue that evaluation on Saturday night.

“(Friday) will be really the day we’ll evaluate that out there,” Judge said on Thursday afternoon. “I’d say obviously with two injuries, it’s a little bit different situation than it was just last week. But he’s making progress, he’s doing everything the trainers ask him to and he’s working hard. We just need to make sure we do a good job of really watching him (Friday) at practice and make the best decision.”

Judge insisted that the delay and the lost practice on Thursday doesn’t make it any less likely that Jones will play (“No, I don’t think so,” he said). But a team source said there was considerable doubt on Wednesday when Jones struggled through a practice on an ankle he admitted was still “sore”. Judge said Jones’ performance at practice was actually “very encouraging”, though the quarterback was officially “limited” and a source said McCoy took the majority of first-team reps.

“I was encouraged with how he moved around, how he threw the ball, how he was in the pocket,” Judge said. “That being said, we’ll have to see him at really a faster tempo.”

That would have happened on Thursday, but instead all Jones could do was come to the Giants’ facility for treatment and rehab – something he was allowed to do because, like everyone else in the organization, he wasn’t found to have any “close contact” with Garrett at practice on Wednesday. Judge did not give an update on Jones’ condition, but said the plan is for him to practice on Friday as much as he can.

That practice, Judge said, will be a “hybrid” practice, with a mix of what they had planned to do Thursday and some of what they normally do at their last full practice of the week. The Giants will then have a one-hour walkthrough on Saturday. And thanks to their late kickoff on Sunday night, they can do a “hotel walkthrough” on Sunday morning, too.

So while they have some time to make the decision, they’re almost out of time for the on-field evaluation, especially since Judge wants to know whether Jones is ready to go by Saturday. That would match what happened last week when Jones’ solidified his status for the game against the Cardinals by practicing fully on Friday afternoon.

If necessary, the late kickoff of the Giants-Browns game does give Judge extra time to see how Jones is feeling on Sunday, too. But by then, his on-field work for the week will be over, which means Friday’s practice is really the big – and final – test of what he’s able to do.

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