Daniel Jones: Giants must use difficult 2-7 hole to ‘motivate’ and ‘elevate’ their game in Germany

NEW YORK — The Giants (2-7) are hanging by a thread as Germany beckons, with a bye week awaiting them after Sunday’s international game against the equally bad Carolina Panthers (2-7).

“No one’s happy with where we are now,” quarterback Daniel Jones said Wednesday after practice. “The challenge is now, are you going to let that affect your preparation? Are you going to let that affect your attitude and your effort? Or are you going to use it to motivate you and elevate your game, elevate your preparation?

“And I think we all have to make the decision to do that,” Jones added. “And that’s what we’re focusing on.”

Preparation and performance won’t guarantee reward with the Giants, though. The players just saw that first-hand with the organization’s release of corner Nick McCloud after he refused to take a pay cut.

He cleared waivers late Wednesday afternoon and is now free to sign anywhere.

Several Giants were alarmed by what one player called the “crazy” news that McCloud had been waived on Tuesday.

They’ll move on and chalk it up to a ruthless business. They have a game to play, after all. But it’s confusing to players that the team would release a starter on both defense and special teams at this time and in this manner.

“That’s my partner,” edge rusher Brian Burns said of McCloud. “I don’t know. I don’t really know the ins and outs of why it happened. But that’s just somebody I got close to since I got here, so it’s a bummer.”

Does Burns think McCloud helped the team?

“For sure,” the Giants’ second highest-paid player said. “He’s a dog on special teams, and he knows everything through and through with the defense. So I always thought he was an asset.”

Head coach Brian Daboll deflected and did not explain the decision other than to point out that the team was signing corner Art Green from the practice squad to the active roster to take over McCloud’s roles.

So it goes with the Giants, who don’t have much to play for at this point other than their draft pick next April. Even with this four-game losing streak, however, the Giants still only hold the No. 7 overall pick approaching the NFL’s Week 10.

That’s because there are seven teams with a 2-7 record and nine teams with only two wins.

The most relevant part of Sunday’s game is that the Panthers are one of those 2-7 teams, too. So a Giants loss on Sunday technically would help their draft positioning for a quarterback in the spring.

Both of the teams that have lost to Carolina this season, though, have fired prominent coaches: the Raiders canned most of their offensive staff, and the Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen.

So will the Giants let those stakes affect their attitude and effort? Everyone will find out Sunday in Munich.

Slayton may stay home

Wide receiver Darius Slayton (concussion protocol), starting right guard Greg Van Roten (shoulder), defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (rest) and special teamer Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles) did not practice Wednesday.

Daboll said he considers Slayton “questionable” and he might not travel with the team to Germany at all.

“We’ll see where he’s at,” Daboll said. “That hasn’t been decided yet, but if he’s not progressing where he needs to progress, there’s a chance we could not travel him.”

Isaiah Hodgins likely will get a bump up from the practice squad if Slayton can’t go.

Four Giants were limited on Wednesday: kicker Graham Gano (right hamstring), punter Jamie Gillan (left hamstring), tight end Theo Johnson (knee/back) and special teamer Ty Summers (ankle).

The Giants opened Gano’s 21-day window to return from injured reserve, so this was his first day back at practice. The team retained punter Matt Haack on their practice squad after cutting him as insurance for Gillan, who is aiming to come back.

The team also signed center Bryan Hudson off the New England Patriots practice squad and cut tackle Josh Miles.

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