Colt McCoy ready to start for NY Giants with Jones iffy

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Colt McCoy is getting ready to compete against somebody other than his current team.

With Daniel Jones nursing a hamstring injury, McCoy is preparing to start for the New York Giants on Sunday against the NFC West-leading Seahawks in Seattle.

Jones was injured in the third quarter of last weekend's win over Cincinnati. He did not practice on Wednesday as the NFC East-leading Giants (4-7) held mostly a walk-through workout to prepare for the Seahawks (8-3).

Neither coach Joe Judge nor Jones shed any light on whether Jones would be ready for Sunday, when the Giants go for their fourth straight win.

Judge spoke before practice and said he had not talked with team trainers. Jones said his right hamstring is feeling better and he hopes it will continue to improve. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft naturally said he wants to play but he would not go beyond that.

McCoy has played in 40 games with the Browns, 49ers, Washington and the Giants since being draft in the third round by Cleveland in 2010. He has started 28 and has a 7-21 record. He signed with the Giants this season after spending six years with Washington and playing in 11 games with seven starts, including one last year.

“I’ve been around the league for a long time and any time you get to go out as a starter, if that happens this week, you know, you are one of 32 guys who gets to do that in the whole world,” McCoy said. “I certainly don’t take that for granted.”

McCoy said he is looking forward. He has learned a lot as a player with some bad teams and hopes to call upon those experiences if he plays.

“My focus right now is really on this team and what we’ve got going on, and if I’m called on how I can be my best out there for us."

Until Jones was hurt, McCoy had not taken a snap in a game this season. His biggest contribution was running the scout team on Fridays when the group went up tempo and made the first-team defense react to the upcoming opponent's offense.

“He does kind of the whole two-minute drill, all that type of stuff,” Giants linebacker Blake Martinez said. “He tries to do certain plays, no-look passes, all these types of things. I’ve had confidence in him every single time we’ve had practice, every single day he’s been here. I’m excited for him to get the opportunity come Sunday.”

McCoy said the scout team workouts have prepared him to play. He is not getting many first-team reps in practice when Jones is healthy so the Friday drills help him work on footwork, identifying defenses, seeing coverages and different protection looks.

Judge said McCoy works hard and competes.

“He’s got a lot of instincts, a lot of savvy.” Judge said. “He draws from his experience. He’s a tough dude, he’s mentally tough, he’s physically tough. He’s a guy that’s very well respected on this team.”

McCoy was 6 of 10 for 31 yards against the Bengals. He also carried five times for 7 yards.

“I felt like I was a little rusty last week, to be honest,” he said. “A couple plays I wish I could have back. But we’ll see what happens this week.”

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